


Smile

by thoronmage



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Blood, F/M, Fighting, Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-05-26 11:53:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 40,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6237574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thoronmage/pseuds/thoronmage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For a knight who feels as though he had failed his duty in protecting his allies, especially the army's tactician, anything can make or break him, even through his cold demeanour... Especially her. For the tactician, knowing that her allies may mistrust her hurts her, and prevents her from thinking straight...  One mere word could be enough to flip everything over and change their lives, perhaps for the better, but perhaps for the worst... Smile.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Smile](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/181579) by Me (thoronmage) on fanfiction.net. 



> So, um... This is the first thing I've posted on here, and it's a slightly altered/improved version of the story which I posted on fanfiction.net (I've got the same username, same story title etc.) so it's mostly the same and... Well, I'm hoping that this is okay...

Of all of the situations which the tactician wanted to be in, this was by _far_ the worst. Blood… Gods, the smell of blood was quickly lost to the air in the midst of a sandstorm, and the metallic taste in the air was rapidly replaced with sand. It reminded Robin that not often was she freed from that grim reality that was the midst of combat – no, war – but the sting of wounds were capable of reminding her that no matter what, she will always be affected by it...

Blood was slowly seeing down an almost gaping wound on her wrist to her tome, causing it damage which would would render it almost practically useless when within this sort of situation. Any damage – be it water, snow or creases – was enough to prevent the tome from working at its full power due to the pages becoming damaged… And that was if the tome even decided to work.

"Why-!" The voice was sudden – the tactician had almost forgot that she was in trouble because of her war-related thoughts. She had to quickly dive down to the side as an axe was swung towards her., aiming for her torso – her unprotected, lightly clothed stomach in particular. "Won't-!" This time, her legs were the primary target, presumably to render her immobile to then finish her off quickly. She had to run as fast as she could away from the weapon. "You… Die!" She had fell down clumsily into the sand in her previous attempt to dodge, getting sand in her mouth and that made her start to choke. That, alongside her tome now being too damaged from blood to use, left her vulnerable to a killing blow.

She could just about see the axe be raised in level with her throat, and her eyes began to well up. This was it… She had failed herself… Failed Chrom and the Shepherds… Failed in saving Emmeryn… She was nothing _but_ a failure...

And the next thing that happened? A bloodcurdling scream. __Her__ bloodcurdling scream. Yet at the same time… She could hear metal hit metal. She had nothing metal with her… Could it have been a weapon, possibly?...

And then she found herself not lying in the grainy Plegian sand… But in her tent. In camp. "G- Gods…” After rubbing her eyes, Robin stretched her arms out. “What was that?… A nightmare?..." She sat up from where she was lying, and shook her head, pushing what had happened to the back of her mind. It wasn't real. There was no chance of it being real. After all, her plans were still exactly where she had left them on her make-shift desk, consisting of a large crate, which used to be filled with a surplus of food long since consumed by the rest of the camp in the form of Sumia's pies. If that had _actually_ happened, she would have quickly destroyed the plans...

With a faint laugh, she went to pull herself up to her feet, and she realised that there was a slight draft in her tent. The entrance was a slight bit open, and there seemed to be a stitch in a hole in the tent which was weakening slowly. "Must be windy still… Maybe I should put my coat on." She whispered, noticing her coat neatly folded on the top of a stack of her books. It was clean, of course it _had_ to have been a nightmare! Her coat was covered in blood, sweat and sand from what she could remember, but it wasn't!

Feeling the warmth provided to her from her coat after pulling it over her shoulders was like a dream. It was one of her few possessions which had been with her from the start, from when she was found in the field in Ylisse by Chrom, Lissa and Frederick. Thinking on it, when she was found, she had naught but a name, the clothes on her back, her weapons… and a nightmare. Now, thankfully, she had much more. Then that prompted a thought of something which made her smile. "One year… I keep forgetting that I have been tactician here for over a year now..."

Crazy. It was absolutely nothing but crazy at how fast time had gone whilst with her new friends and allies.

Thinking of friends and allies… The tactician decided that it was for the best that she go and see them. If she remained in her tent for too long, everyone would be thinking that she was over-exerting herself with her tactics!

What a shock she was in for when she stepped outside her tent though. She noticed Vaike, out of anyone, asleep right beside her in the sand. Normally, he would flop down anywhere but there, because of an… incident involving a thesaurus a few months ago. “...Vaike?" She went to nudge the dozing man, but felt a dull ache in her leg, as though she had just fell on it. "Ow… I must have slept on it funny or something." Robin then went to rub it, but her hand began to hurt a bit also. “Perhaps I slept funny on my hand also...”

Her mumbling was enough to awaken the buffoon known as 'teach', and just the sight of her was a shock to him. "Wh- Whaaaaat?!” The yell had caught her by surprise. “I gotta tell Chrom!”

Robin cat him a confused glance as he pointed at her in surprise. “Tell Chrom… What?”

“That Robin's ghost is haunting the camp!"

"Gh- Ghost?! Vaike, what are you going on about?!" He had already by that point jumped to his feet, and began to run off. "Wait! Vaike!" She tried to chase after him to ask him what he meant, but by that point, the ache was no longer so 'dull'. No, it was more like… A throbbing pain.

That thought was still dwelling on her mind as she leaned against a rock. 'Robin's ghost'?… She pinched herself, and it proved to her that she was very much alive. Maybe she had just over-slept or something, and Vaike was… Just being silly? Drunk perhaps? Then again, it was Vaike. Not many people were able to understand his mindset.

With a small groan, she rose to her feet again and decided to go and find someone else – anyone else – and thankfully… She found someone a little more… sane, per se. "Lissa! Thank the gods, the first normal person I've seen today!”

Robin's gasp was more than enough to startle Lissa. "Huh?!" The princess jumped up from where she was sat looking at her stave, before turning around. "Robin, you're okay!"

"What do you mean, 'you're okay'?… I've been fine, and I haven't been aware of any change-!"

"You need to see Chrom! He will have to explain it to you!"

~~_**/ / / / /** _ ~~

Elsewhere, in the outskirts of the camp, somewhat close to Robin's tent, somebody was venting out their frustrations. "I… Should have stopped it earlier..." The knight thrust his lance forward into a tree, and growled to himself afterwards as he pulled it back out. "I should have been more prepared… I should have been faster!"

A few more thrusts into the tree were made by the man and his lance, but the sheer force of the attack made the lance, despite it being made of pure silver, break in half like a twig. The strain of his training was getting more and more the longer that he pushed himself. "I must get another lance… And I must train myself to be faster and stronger! I cannot risk this happening again!"

Frederick had been over-exerting himself in his training for days now. He had barely managed to 'fulfil his duty as a knight' in his opinion a few days previously. The reason why was rather simple. He had barely just made it in time to save a comrade's life, after they were targeted by bandits specifically hired by the king of Plegia himself. It had been an attempt to hinder the Shepherds' progress in rescuing the exalt. Allowing the exalt herself to be taken hurt his pride as a knight enough, but almost losing their only tactician too… It would have not just ruined his pride and status, but would have also his his life fall into ruin. What was the point of being a knight if what he stood against kept happening?

Knowing that he and Chrom were the only people who fully understood what had happened too was causing him a lot of pain as it was.

And what had happened?… Four days previously, not long after recruiting Gregor and Nowi, the Shepherds had set up camp after scouting the area and discovering that there were no Plegians within a few mile radius. Having a manakete on their side assured that too, for she was much more capable at flying at a faster speed than the pegasus knights. Robin, as usual, was set up in her tent at the outskirts of the camp, due to the peace and quiet which was provided there for when she was planning any further routes.

During that first night, during the few moments in which those on lookout during the day allowed those on patrol at night to take their positions, both Frederick and Chrom had heard loud noises – almost like a struggle – alongside screaming as they discussed Emmeryn. It was quick to pinpoint it to Robin's tent simply because of the state it had ended up in. It was torn and unstable, not a place which could have somebody residing inside.

Upon investigating inside the mess of a tent, there was a piece of parchment left on the floor there, with only four words upon it. 'Eliminate the Ylissean tactician'. It was easy enough to figure out that this was an order from Gangrel, or at least _somebody_ with authority within Plegia.

But how had the Plegians managed to get so close to the camp, without the scouts being able to see them? There was nothing but wasteland and desert surrounding them. There wasn't anywhere to hide. They would have been seen almost instantly.

And then comes the reason why Frederick was so annoyed with himself.

By the time that he and Chrom had found where the Plegians had managed to pull Robin away from the camp, about thirty minutes later (though it was hard to tell), she was gravely injured. Blood coating her arm, and her tome strewn onto the sand. On top of that, it looked as though she had tripped up, as her legs were sprawled across the sand. From what they could see, she had been able to fend off all but one of the Plegian soldiers. The one that was remaining was about to behead her with his axe, and she sounded as though she was trying to scream for help as he brought the weapon up.

Put simply… What Robin had thought was a nightmare, was the cold, harsh reality of what had happened.

Frederick angrily recovered the remnants of his lance, and he was made to wince as the shards of the lance dug into his hands. "Surely I should have been more prepared for something such as this..."

With a frown, the knight decided that he must return to camp. There was little nature in Plegia, and because of that, he knew that it must be preserved – his training must not harm it much, though no harm would have been best.

The same applied to Robin. No harm would have been best.

Just the thought that their trusted tactician, who had assisted him with his fear of eating bear meat, and in turn earned his trust - the wariest knight's trust – was gravely injured and unconscious, constantly having to be tended to by healers and be kept under watch caused him pain. What could happen if she were not to wake up before the next full moon, the date of Emmeryn's impending execution? Would Ylisse be doomed to lose their exalt? Be doomed to become nothing but a doormat to be flattened by Gangrel?

What if she… died? There was nobody with tactical know-how up to Robin's standards. The whole war council would not be enough to come up with a good enough strategy in a whole night which she could come up with in a mere few hours.

Would he… never be able to hear her optimism in these dire situations again? Though his face never showed it, he was always happy to hear her voice when they were in a troublesome situation.

' _ _Don't worry! We will win this war, and you can all return to Ylisse with Emmeryn by your side! Look forward to your future!'__

_She had said that to Chrom and Lissa when Basilio broke the news to them that their sister had been taken by the Plegian king._

__'Haha, it's nice to see that everyone in the Shepherds get along so well_ _ __after so long_ _ __! I feel so privileged to be fighting alongside you!'_ _

_That was a two weeks previously, when everyone was cheering about it being the one-year anniversary since she had joined them._

__'Smile, Frederick! You need to wind down from being serious sometimes, and be happy!'_ _

One week ago…

Smile….

That word, even though he was simply recalling it being said in her voice… It was enough to turn the sides of the knight's mouth up. Smile. They were in the middle of a war… And she had told him to smile. The word brought a fuzzy warmth to his insides, and he closed his eyes as he continued to smile. That tactician… She was a piece of work. No wonder Lon'qu called her a con-woman at times, the way in which she was able to manipulate how people felt. But she never made anyone feel bad – quite the opposite, really.

What __was__ she doing to him?!

A knight couldn't afford distractions like this! They were at __war__ for gods' sake!

Upon hearing the voices of his fellow companions nearby then, he realised that maybe he should have returned quite a while ago. The sun was not a good way of telling the time when in Plegia, unlike Ylisse.

"Frederick! C- Come quickly!" Sumia running over to the knight before tripping up was a sudden shock. He had never realised that people were actually so close to him. "It's Robin!"

"What? What about her?"

"Sh- She's awake!"

~~_**/ / / / /** _ ~~

"Wait… So that __wasn't__ a nightmare?!" The story which Robin had just been told made her eyes begin to well up, and she had began to shiver. She _had_ almost died...

A cup was carefully placed upon the table before her, and blonde curls of hair fell into her line of sight. "I'm afraid so, Robin…” The drink was then nudged towards her a slight bit. “Here, drink some tea, you look parched, darling! It can aid you in relieving your pain also, I made sure of it when brewing it for you." Maribelle's presence whilst Robin only really wanted to talk to Chrom was hardly much of a reassurance to her. Though Robin did hold trust in her, and saw her as a friend, she wasn't exactly in the mood to have too many people around her. The tea however, was gratefully accepted.

"Thank you..." The tactician trailed off after giving her thanks, before she took a small sip of the drink before her, and almost at the same time, dropping the cup as she burst into tears. That was the arm which had been cut by a sword, in turn reminding her of the blood coating her tome, which could have cost her more than just a few days' consciousness. "Gods, I'm so pathetic… I should have been able to fight off that last Plegian!"

A stern glare from Chrom made her gulp though. He didn't appreciate her talking in such a manner, especially when it came to the fact that if she would have continued to fight, it would have cost her everything – including her life.

Lissa worriedly placed her hand on Robin's shoulder, must to the surprise of the tactician. It really had scared her. Seeing Robin flinch at the contact made the princess remove her hand, and take a step back. "It hurts a bit there...” Robin then rolled the material of her coat and shirt down to look at where Lissa had just touched. "It looks like that was only a bruise… H- Hey, don't give me that worried look, Lissa!"

"Sorry… I just thought that I scared you..."

It _definitely_ had scared Robin, but she decided to say otherwise. She didn't want people to worry over her more than they were at present. "Scare me?... No. It just hurt."

With a sigh of relief, Lissa was able to smile at Robin then. It was good to see that she was still… Vaguely back to normal.

Over the next few minutes, Maribelle had poured Robin another drink of tea before leaving, because of various other members of the Shepherds coming in to see Robin to see if she were okay for a few moments, before returning to their duties. After these few minutes though, Robin began to feel restless. "Chrom...” She couldn't make eye contact with her friend, who was still sat opposite her, giving her worried glances. “I think I want to go back to my tent now… But after hearing about what happened, I don't want it to remain at the edge of camp..." That was understandable to the prince. Plus, if she did move further into the camp, there would no longer be a need to have someone stand vigil outside, to make sure that nobody tried to take her and bring her harm yet again. "Though… I need to thank Maribelle for the tea first. It actually has helped quite a bit in numbing the pain." It hadn't. Her body was still aching, and the more that she thought about it, it felt as though it hurt even more. However, she knew that she should at least be thankful for Maribelle trying to make the effort to make her feel better.

"I tell you what then… I can gather a few people, and we can move your tent and belongings closer to the centre of camp, whilst you go and see Maribelle, okay?" Chrom was hoping that Robin would appreciate the thought – he could tell that she wasn't too happy about the whole 'tea' situation as it was, because he knew her well enough by that point.

A small nod was enough to let Chrom know that the idea was approved by her, and that sent relief flooding through his body. Slowly, she then rose to her feet, and used the seat which she was sat on almost like a crutch as she stood still for a moment. "By any chance… Is there any chance that you can get Maribelle to come here instead? I can barely stand-" Her sentence was cut off by the sound of armour, and somebody going through the tent's entrance.

"My apologies… Am I interrupting something here?" The sudden voice, strangely quiet for the owner of said voice, was enough to cheer Robin up a slight bit. Who _wouldn't_ be happy when the person who saved their life finally approached them?

Chrom ended up putting on a small smile then. "Nice to see that you decided not to dedicate an entire third day towards training again, Frederick…" There was a quiet mumble made from the knight in response to that, and that made the prince sigh.

Robin slowly turned around, still holding onto the chair to help her stand.

' _ _Gods, this pain in my leg is such a hindrance…'__ was her only thought as she too put on a smile. "It's about time! I'm surprised you weren't one of the first here, Frederick… Being the one who saved my life, and all…" In all honesty, she would have hugged him if it weren't for the fact that he was wearing armour.

Frederick glanced at the bandage which he could see upon Robin's wrist, before he ended up gulping. " _'It's better late than never'_ … Isn't it?" After that, he closed his eyes, not wanting to see the near-fatal injuries for longer than he had to.

That phrase coming from Frederick was enough to make Chrom and Robin glance at each other in confusion. Was this __actually__ Frederick that they were speaking to? Did he __actually__ just say that?

"Are… You okay, Frederick?"

"I... have felt better, milord. My mind has not been in the right place as of late. Naught that a short walk can fix."

A short walk… That gave Chrom an idea. Though he knew that it would be a long shot to get Robin in on it fully… He explained his idea to the two stood before him nonetheless. Frederick had spent the past few days angry that he was unable to get to Robin on time to save her, and was needing to clear his mind. Robin was wanting to distract herself from the pain, and move further into the camp, for her own safety. "You two should try to assist each other. Robin, you're in pain and wanting to get away from the camp's outskirts, and Frederick, you're wanting to take a short walk, and I know that you won't unless ordered. So, I propose this: Frederick, you are to become Robin's assistant. Not as in tactician assistant, but assistant in terms of her movement and such. Basically, you must accompany her everywhere, no matter what. And Robin, you would have to reside alongside Frederick inside his tent, almost practically in the heart of the camp – that means that you aren't in major need of having your tent be reassembled and such, you just need your belongings transferred… I know that you two may not think of it as that good an idea, I mean, I'm not the tactician… But at least it is something which can be done for both of your sakes..."

Frederick winced at the idea, but still ended up taking a subtle step closer to Robin. "Milord, you… You want me to be like a crutch for Robin?… Despite my duties around camp?"

Robin rolled her eyes, before nudging the top of his leg – one of the few areas of his body not covered in armour that she could reach. "That's what you are dwelling on, Frederick? I'm more focussed on the fact that he wants us to stay in the same tent! Gods forbid though, Chrom… Please don't tell me that you intend on making us share a _bed._ "

“Gods, no! You would have your own, Robin!”

Despite the fact that the two of them were speaking their concerns towards the plan, they knew that it would be for the best. They couldn't come up with much else, plus, they couldn't help but agree with Chrom over the need to move Robin's belongings becoming much more minor. There was also another unspoken downside to the plan, which the two of them knew of also.

One name.

__Lissa._ _

Seeing them be together constantly would set her off with various different rumours, not to mention the constant teasing. They just couldn't bring themselves around to say it in front of Chrom though, knowing that he knew not of this side of Lissa too well.

"Would you two at least consider it as an option?" A small glance between the two was enough to say it all, alongside a painful shrug from Robin, and a very faint smile from Frederick. "Right then… We should keep these arrangements in place until Robin has fully recovered for sure. I know that it isn't exactly what the two of you would want to do, but it is probably the only thing that we can do..."

~~_**/ / / / /** _ ~~

Chrom frowned as he waited for Robin later that day, having helped relocate all of her belongings alongside Gaius, Sully and Stahl. They had finished their duties in camp early, so the prince thought that it would be better to carry out the task whilst he had available assistance. It had took a lot to stop Gaius from trying to __eat__ some of the scented candles which she had to relax- notably the sweet smelling ones. That did confuse him a slight bit though… Gingerbread scented candles?… On top of the whole 'don't eat the candles, Gaius' situation, Stahl was constantly noticing different books which had things to do with herbs in them and were catching his interest at the most inconvenient of times. In all honesty, it was quite the chore.

However… Knowing that the war could entirely depend on Robin's well-being, he was able to endure the task.

One thing was playing on his mind though, seeming as they were done now… Where was Robin and Frederick? The knight had only taken Robin to visit Maribelle so that she could express her gratitude, and just saying 'thank you' couldn't take that long… Could it?

Little did he know, Robin had became sidetracked in the process of going to meet him.

"I've never seen such a snake before… I presume that they must be commonplace in these lands..." Robin mumbled, placing her hand on the back of the snake as it moved past her. It hissed as it escaped her grasp, and Frederick looked at her with much curiosity. He had never seen someone so eager to interact with unfamiliar species (not counting Taguel and Manaketes as 'unfamiliar species'), and not giving a damn in the world over the risk.

Robin then gasped as a large Plegian crow swooped down from the sky and took grasp of the snake. A predator and its prey…

She felt stuck in that situation. Gangrel and his Plegians were the predators… She and the Shepherds were the prey. The events from the other day reaffirmed this belief too. She specifically was picked off from the prey, to make the rest of the prey easy targets without someone to keep things sorted as carefully as possible.

It made her begin to cry. But not just cry. It could only be described as… An all out downpour.

Frederick knelt down beside her, and ended up ruffling her hair a slight bit as he gave off a deep chuckle. "Robin… Smile. You said it to me once… So now I am saying it to you. A tactician needs to stay positive, if I am correct?" That surprisingly triggered a faint smile upon Robin's face. Frederick had just used her own words against her. __Smile.__ She remembered just how positive Frederick had been after that one time she had told him to do just that. Did it really mean that much to him, that one word? Even when the two were in passing, a smile was given.

As with Frederick, the word made her feel warm inside.

"Smile… You know what, Frederick?… You're right. I need to smile… Let the past be the past, hey? After all… What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!" The smile had turned into a grin then. Despite the usage of such _clichéd_ phrases in what she had said making her want to wretch, it rung true to her. She was alive right now, wasn't she? "Now then… We have left Chrom waiting for a while now… I suppose that we should meet him."

"Yes. Let us do that…"

Robin happily accepted Frederick's help up off the ground then, feeling much more at ease as she stood up.

__Smile…_ _

__It's amazing what one simple word can do…_ _

__Even to a man like Frederick._ _

~~_**/ / / / /** _ ~~

__"Ack-! I- I'm dying!… S- So dark... T- Tell Chrom that- That I-!"_ _

" _ _You're not dying. You're… What's the word?… Exaggerating." Robin rolled her eyes as she watched the over-dramatic acting of Frederick, upon the revelation that he had been eating bear meat, not venison. "If you were honestly dying, you might as well die here!__ _ _Come on, me and Chrom eat it all the time, and we're both alive and well, aren't we?”__

"Indeed… __Yes, yes… Yo__ _ _u are correct,__ _ _Robin..__ _ _. If one cannot withstand this,__ _ _then one is__ _ _not worthy of protecting everyone on the front lines..."__

__As the conversation continued, Robin was continually shocked at simply how Frederick was talking himself back into allowing her to make him eat bear. It did, however, disturb her greatly at how quickly he was able to do so. But either way, she felt pride more than anything. She had helped Frederick get over (what she thought was) his irrational fear, and he seemed to have opened up to her much more than he had ever done._ _

~~_**/ / / / /** _ ~~

"… I just need an attitude like that, don't I?" Robin mumbled to herself as she lay back that night, trying to get some sleep. She had hoped that reminiscing would be enough to send her into a deep sleep that could at least last until morning, but alas, that simply would not be the case. The pain from her injuries were keeping her awake. Her leg, thankfully, had returned back to a state of dull aching. Her arm was still weak, and vaguely sore. But her head… Her head was worse than anything. She was suffering from a horrible throbbing headache. She had never felt so much pain concentrated into one area of her body like that before, and it was making her want to cry out and hit her head with something (Frederick's armour in a big bundle in the corner of the tent seemed to fit the purpose well enough looking at it) just to make herself fall unconscious. Waking Lissa or Maribelle wasn't a good enough option either, neither of them liked to be disturbed in their sleep no matter what.

Then she realised something. She had been awake for at least twelve hours by that point… Had she even ate anything? She knew for sure that she had been given drinks – the aftertaste of tea In her mouth was evidence enough of that. But no, she had not even had something to eat.

Nights in Plegia were just as harsh as the daytime, if not more harsh. It was colder than Regna Ferox, and gods, did Robin hate how cold it was in Ferox. Even her coat couldn't help her out this time. There was only one problem with her wanting to go outside to get food though… She needed Frederick's help to walk.

Gods, Chrom and his silly ideas. It was just a relief that Lissa hadn't heard of this arrangement yet.

Though, she didn't exactly mind having Frederick help her. Thankfully, he was good company for her. She could have ended up with, say, Miriel having to help her, or Vaike even. At least he trusted her now too, because if he didn't… Maybe this entire situation would have ended up with completely different results.

She could have died, and what would have happened to everyone after that? Who knew…

With a sigh, she forced herself up to her feet. Her neck felt as though it were supporting a ton of bricks, not a head. Hair clung to the back of her neck, and was falling into her eyes. She had only just realised that she hadn't tied it up as she usually does. "Such a pain..." she grumbled, quickly sorting her hair out as she leaned against a crate of her belongings to keep herself stood up. "How can we be expected to win this war with someone like me holding everyone back?…"

Slowly, she was able to make her way outside. So far, so good. She wasn't stumbling like she had done the day before. "Um… Where is the food then?..." Robin looked around, trying to shake her memory to remember whereabouts the food normally was stored. A few days of being unconscious was enough to make her mind go a bit all over the place. "Ah… I remember now..."

Thinking about food was a good enough distraction from her headache. But gods, knowing that she hadn't ate in days made her feel as though she were dying. Which, in theory, was probably true, being in the middle of Plegia and all.

It was worse a few minutes later though, when she had began mumbling to herself. "Food… So hungry..." Food was obviously her __only__ priority now, not even trying to stay stood upright.

"What are you doing?" The sudden hand on her shoulder snapped her out of her food induced daze.

"Huh?… Oh, Chrom?…" Robin had to force herself into putting on a happy face at the sight of seeing her friend. Though tired, he found it easy to tell that she was feigning her happiness. "Isn't it cold to you?..."

Chrom frowned as he looked at Robin dithering away where he was stood, before sighing at the fact that she was insisting upon standing outside in these. "Very cold. But what are you doing out here?” It took him by surprise when the tactician grabbed hold of his cape, and wrapped it over her shoulders. “You, um… You _should_ be resting… We need to move tomorrow, the Plegians are trying to close in on us, and we need you awake then..."

Robin placed her hand on her stomach and groaned. "Food… Not ate since I woke up..." And by the looks of things, she was quite evidently starting to feel sick staying stood still.

Another sigh was given off by the Ylissean prince. "I tell you what, I'll help you get something to eat… But you have to promise to rest until we move in the morning afterwards, okay?" The stern look given to her from the prince as he spoke let her know that she wasn't allowed to say yes or no, she had to go along with what he had said no matter what she thought or did. "Come on. You look tired too, and you can barely stand straight, so I'll help you quickly."

~~_**/ / / / /** _ ~~

"Yeah… It looks as though the Plegian city is just a bit further ahead… Inside that giant… skull..." Robin whispered, looking at the skeletal remains of… some sort of massive creature in the desert. It couldn't have been man-made, nor could it have been some sort of natural rock formation – that was definitely a skeleton. The six eyes upon the skull made her instinctively look at her right hand.

Her brand bore six eyes too.

She was quick to make the link that this mark upon her hand must have been Plegian, but in turn, that brought up many questions in her head. Was she really from Plegia? Does she have some sort of past in Plegia? Could she have family or friends here? Was there remnants of any past life of hers somewhere? She had no idea. Being an amnesiac made it so hard to answer such vague questions.

"Are you sure about walking, Robin?"

The sudden voice ringing out which a question which she _could_ answer was enough to snap Robin away from her thoughts. "Huh?… Oh, yes. I have a lot more energy today. I suppose a day of not walking seeming as you let me rest on your horse whilst we moved yesterday allowed me to rest up enough, Frederick. Anyway, I think we're almost where we need to be for my plan to be set into motion." She nodded towards the skull again, before looking at her bandaged wrist. "Plus, this is more of a concern than my legs now! Can't use a sword properly at the moment..."

"Well, at least we still have your head!" Chrom laughed as he overheard the short conversation, before trying to ruffle her hair.

Robin sighed as she pushed his hand away and flattened her hair out. "Even then… I've not been thinking straight. You know that plan to rescue Emmeryn that I showed you yesterday?… Well… That was the fifth draft of the plan which I had come up with… It is full of little faults, but it has about a seventy, perhaps eighty percent chance of success if you're pushing it… At least that's higher than the twenty percent of the next best idea..."

Frederick frowned, having not heard the tactician speak so ill of her plans before. "What? Have you been distracted as of late?" he questioned, and she simply stopped in her tracks and started staring at her feet in silence for a moment.

"How could I __not__ be distracted?… I've been who everyone is worrying over!” Robin's sudden outburst. “ _ _I'm not the exalt! I'm not the one that brings peace to everyone, it's Emmeryn! Why are you all worried about me when we should be worried about her?!"__ She then sniffled and rubbed her eyes, before dropping to her knees sobbing. It was a shock to everyone in the Shepherds to hear Robin have such an outburst, but they were sympathetic to the pain in her voice. They understood why she felt as though she shouldn't be at the forefront of their minds, but they also understood that she didn't know that she was one of the most important members of the Shepherds.

"Don't talk like that." Frederick growled his response to her, and that just made her clench her fists as she sobbed even more. "You don't understand how important you are. Talk like that, and everyone in the army is forfeiting their lives for nothing.” She looked up at him with forlorn eyes, before shaking her head. “Be positive, Robin. Smile."

__There was that word again._ _

It had started to slip into almost all of their conversations now.

Just hearing yet again was able to make her pull herself out of her low a slight bit. Not fully, but it was enough to notice. "Gods… We're going to keep saying that to each other until we die, aren't we?..."

However, Lissa and Chrom had also began to notice that pattern too. As a matter of fact, everyone had. Turning to her brother, the princess then began to smirk. "Chrom… Are you __sure__ that you don't think that there is anything going on between those two? I mean, they're spending almost all of their time together and are trying to make each other happy! It's so _sweet!_ "

"I'm sure, Lissa… Anyway, I ordered Frederick to stay with Robin. It stopped him from training excessively, if you have noticed."

It was then Gaius' turn to join in the conversation. "I agree with the princess, Blue. Has to be romance."

"AHEM. Need I remind you that we can hear your conversation?" Both the knight and tactician had practically identical glares upon their faces.

With a pout, Lissa backed away with Gaius, and they continued to quietly talk about how they thought that there was definitely something about Robin and Frederick's relationship being more than something professional. Chrom sighed at their childish attitude.

"I'm so sorry about those two..."

"Don't worry… We __knew__ that Lissa would be one of the downsides to your plan, Chrom..." Robin muttered, giving a sigh similar to the one which Chrom had given off. "Can we just get to saving Emmeryn now? My head isn't going to be able to take this much more..."

"Right… Anyway, from what our scouts have reported… Today… This afternoon… I- It's when Gangrel wants to..."

"We know… We'll have Emmeryn rescued by tonight, and we can be on our way back to Ylisse…" Robin continued to smile as she spoke, giving the lord hope. And without realising it, she was making Frederick smile too. He didn't even realise it himself.

~~_**/ / / / /** _ ~~

"Stop it! Stop that right now!" Lissa was glaring at Robin as she had to slap the tactician across the face. "Emm died because of __Gangrel!__ Not you!"

"But- But my plan failed-!"

"Enough about your damn plan, Robin! What's past is past, we need to get the hell out of here!" Sully's voice echoed in the canyon which they had to escape through, whilst rain poured down around them.

Robin could feel nothing but responsibility for the Exalt dying as they all tried to escape the mass of Plegians that were not too far behind them by that point. Everyone was telling her otherwise, but she just would not believe them. The rain pouring onto her face was easily capable of hiding her tears. "Gods… I'm not worthy of helping any of you… I'm not worthy of being trusted..." The thing is, nobody heard her say that. She was using that as evidence enough to reinforce her opinion, and she was not going to stop herself from thinking this was so long as she knew that.

"Come on! There's more Plegians ahead of us now, we're going to have to fight our way through!" Chrom's voice echoed over the sound of rain, and the occasional rumbling of thunder. There was only one upside to them being stuck in the middle of a storm though… It cleared the air.

And the clear air did give Robin a clearer mind, so some of the stress which she was experiencing was lifted off her shoulders. Unfortunately… Not all of it.

__'If anything goes wrong...Remember that as long as you have hope, you cannot lose anything… At least, that is what Lady Emmeryn said whenever times were dark in Ylisse. That can apply even now, if we all so wish it…'_ _

Those words which were spoken by Frederick to get Robin to cheer up earlier, a few minutes after Emmeryn's death. He was dwelling on them now, despite the fact that he was only really saying it to keep the tactician's hopes up about winning the war.

As a matter of fact, he wasn't the only one thinking about those words. It was everyone but Chrom and Robin. The two of them were getting frustrated and upset with any Plegians getting in the way, and were blindly attacking them almost relentlessly with tomes and swords. However, Robin was in a much worse state than Chrom. She was constantly having to keep her tome stashed under her coat, which was now starting to get soaked. And boy, was it frustrating her.

Seeing the two fighting without a care did, however, quickly snap Frederick out of his thoughts, alongside a few others.

"Milord, Robin, stop!"

"Geez, big brother! You're going to get killed! You too, Robin! You've almost died once this week already!"

"I'm not stopping until they pay for what they did to Emm!"

Robin just pretended to blank out people shouting to get her to stop. She felt as though she had lost all of the trust that she had earned, so why not? Yet... she was being told otherwise.

What use was she anyway? It wasn't as though people ever fully wanted her here anyway, wasn't it? And despite that, people were acting otherwise. They were trying to stop her from fighting.

"Allow me to stop her from hurting herself…" The creepy laugh from Tharja was enough to unsettle everyone. It was even enough to get Chrom to stop fighting, and give her a concerned look. But Robin? She just ignored it, for the most part. “I can tire her out, and stop her from fighting… Hehehe...”

The tactician was not prepared for a wave of tiredness to hit her so suddenly. "Ugh… What?..." She held her hand against her head as she sank down to her knees, and dropping her tome into the mess of sand and mud which was around her. "So… Tired…” Glancing back at her comrades, she then noticed the smile upon Tharja's face. “What did she do?…" Moments later, Robin then slumped to the side and groaned as she yawned again.

"Hey! Don't make her completely fall asleep! She just needs to calm down a bit! We all need our trusted tactician to get a level head in battle, not a sleeping one!" Cordelia's voice was heard shouting, just as Robin felt Sumia and Nowi pull her up to her feet.

"Trust… What do you mean, trust?…” Sumia had to then grab hold of Robin's arm again even tighter just to stop her from falling back down onto the ground. “Do you all still… Trust me?"

"To relinquish our credence towards the tactician is to abdicate our lives and this bloodshed."

"Why would we not trust our fine lady tactician?"

"Haha, yes, tactician lady is very trusted!"

Hearing that before she yawned did manage to raise Robin's spirits a little bit, though it didn't stop her from feeling so tired. "I thought that you all no longer trusted me… I guess not..."

"May you please remove this curse which is tiring Robin?" Libra's voice was then, heard, another voice soon following.

"Tch… They've surrounded us."

As soon as Tharja was forcefully made to stop her curse from making Robin fall asleep in Sumia and Nowi's arms, everyone got ready to fight – this time with a tactician who actually did as her role intended.

"So then… It looks as though we have four different routes to take here…"

And she was smiling.

It was a smile which could rival Lissa's, and was infectious.

_Frederick was relieved._

~~_**/ / / / /** _ ~~

The cold snow of Ferox was surprisingly a welcome change from the dry and hot climate of Plegia, and all of the Shepherds were relieved to set foot in the magical feeling substance, and none more than Lissa, despite her initial dislike of the snow.

"Haha… I couldn't do this with sand unless it was damp… But I can do this with snow..." She packed some snow together to about the size of a dragonstone, before throwing it to the first person who came into her line of sight.

Chrom never saw it coming.

"Ack-! Are we under-!" Lissa laughing wildly cut her brother off mid-sentence. "Gods… Now isn't the time for this, Lissa! Our sister is dead, we are under the threat of attack at any time, and you are throwing snowballs everywhere!" He was _furious._

"I'm only trying to lighten the mood! You've been acting different since Emm died… I don't like you acting this way, big brother!" Lissa began to pout after that, before seeing Robin stood nearby. "You agree with me, right?!"

The tactician gave her a blank look as she was called to, before shrugging her shoulders.

Angrily, Lissa shoved past Chrom, looking to see where Maribelle was, to see if she could get someone to agree with her. She wanted her brother to be happy, but gods, she was not going to see that at any point until she got this other opinion.

Robin didn't want to get involved in what she could only see as a family feud, so she didn't pay any attention to Chrom cursing under his breath once Lissa had walked away. She was trying to keep herself happy, after all.

"Robin? How are you feeling now?"

Hearing someone talk to her then made her smile. "Oh, I'm fine, Stahl. My wrist still hurts a bit from using my tome before. How come you're asking?"

"Just curious. I wanted to know if you could lend me a hand in cooking tonight's meal… Everyone is tired, so they need a big meal to give them their energy back. Of course, not having much energy applies to me too… That's why I want to know if you want to help me!" the cavalier laughed, just for Robin to nod. She had been learning how to cook before she sustained her injuries a few days before, so she would be willing to try and cook something to see if those lessons had paid off.

And so, debates ensues. What were they actually going to cook?

"Maybe some sort of stew? Soup?"

"What about a roast dinner of sorts?"

"Stahl, they take hours to cook fully! We would have had to start hours ago!"

"Oh, right… Then what about a casserole? Um… Something with a lot of potatoes maybe? I've heard Lon'qu is good at preparing potatoes..."

"We should just go with a stew, Stahl… We literally only need to prepare the ingredients and throw them into a pot of boiling water for about an hour… I think."

"Fine, fine, I guess a stew it is then."

Meanwhile, Chrom, out of his agitation, had asked Frederick to help him train for a while, to forget about yelling at Lissa.

"Try not to tense your arms so much, milord.”

"It's hard not to do that though, being out here..."

"Then you shall have to train your endurance also. If the Plegians were to follow us here, we would be in danger of losing the war if you are incapable of fighting in the snow."

"I know…" Chrom tried to relax his arms, against what his mind was telling him to do, and let his instincts kick in as he swung Falchion towards Frederick. The knight's reflexes were enough to prevent Chrom from wildly attacking though. He was quick enough to block the attack with his lance.

It didn't take long for Chrom to realise that maybe, just maybe, he needed to think his attacks through. Unfortunately, in those few moments, he found Frederick's lance pointed at his chest. "You let your guard down, milord. You were open for an attack. If I were an enemy, I would not have taken a moment to think. I would have pierced you with my lance."

With a sigh, the prince pushed down the lance before sheathing Falchion. He had never been able to best Frederick in training, and this time was no different. As a matter of fact, he had never seen anyone best Frederick – in battle or when in practise.

This man seemed almost invincible.

__Almost._ _

Chrom noticed that Frederick had began to think about something, and smirked at this golden opportunity. Within seconds, his sword was pointed right at his neck. "What was that about letting your guard down, Frederick?"

"My apologies… I could just smell something cooking. Quite distracting."

Frederick was right. There was a smell lingering in the air, and it was most definitely food. And by the smell of it, it would be delicious food of sorts.

Elsewhere, Robin and Stahl were frantically trying to salvage what they could of the food, having forgot some ingredients at an earlier point.

"Stahl, we forgot the carrots!" The tactician had noticed that there was a plate of sliced carrots set out before her, and her eyes grew wide.

Stahl flinched at her sudden cry, before looking in the pot and gasping. "What?! Quick, pass them over, Robin!” Something else seemed to be missing when he looked in once more. “Oh, and the leek!"

Robin winced, having realised that she hadn't prepared any leek whatsoever at any point. "Leek? There was meant to be leek?! I thought it was celery-!"

"Just add that then! It won't make much difference, hopefully..."

After a few more minutes, the two who were meant to be cooking collapsed down onto some seats, and sighed deeply. They had honestly no idea what they were doing at first, despite Stahl's expertise in cooking. With the differing tastes of everyone in the Shepherds, it was hard to decide on ingredients which would appease each and every single one of them.

However, Robin had decided to be a bit cheeky behind Stahl's back. Yes, she had helped Frederick 'recover' from his phobia of bear meat, but he still flinched at times when eating it. And then there was Lissa. She thought that bear meat tasted worse than rough leather boots.

She had 'substituted' the meat which was meant to go into the stew with bear. How she wanted to see their reaction after they had ate it, when she reveals to them what the ingredient which Stahl assumed was venison really was.

What neither of them had expected though… Was that people began to gather around what they were cooking, and asking what the nice smell was.

"Ooh! Let me taste! Let me, please!" Nowi was trying to cup her hands, and scoop up some of the stew to taste it. Stahl quickly held the manakete back as Robin briskly placed the lid on top. "Why are you two being mean?!"

Robin then hissed as her hand burned by some steam which managed to escape from inside the pot. "It hasn't finished cooking, Nowi... You don't want to get food poisoning!"

Stahl was starting to struggle at holding Nowi back by that point, and the fact that she bit his hand hadn't helped. "But I wanna try!"

"Wait for about another ten minutes, okay?" Robin stated, looking at the liquid bubbling away. "It's almost finished anyway." She had never actually made anything which had looked so nice before, and so she was excited about trying it out once it was done.

"Ah, okay! I can't wait!"

"So… It's you and Stahl who are cooking. No wonder it smells so nice!" Chrom's voice joined the commotion then, and the tactician could only sigh.

She was kind of hoping that the prince had made up with Lissa, but she knew that it probably wouldn't be the case, seeming as he was with Frederick. And that made her think of something else. Since they had escaped from Plegia… She had forgotten about Chrom's order of Frederick staying with her until she had fully recovered from her injuries, and they seemed to have forgotten too.

But, that didn't really matter right now. They all wanted to forget about what had happened in Plegia, so the food was a good enough distraction.

Stahl slung his arm over the tactician's shoulders, and grinned cheerfully as he spoke. "Well, Robin did the most of it!" After that, he laughed when Robin cast him a glare as she started to stammer.

"H- Huh?! No, you did, Stahl! I barely knew how to use the knife to cut anything, whilst you… You did so much!"

"You came up with the idea though!"

After a few more moments, seeing that they didn't get anywhere debating who did more, they suddenly shut up before they shrugged their shoulders. Who cared, so long as it tasted as good as it smelled?

And then, Robin felt a hand tap her shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Oh, sure…” Robin grinned at Frederick, before loosening the dressings on her hand. “Just give me a moment to readjust this bandage, okay?"

Frederick took hold of her other hand, before studying the bandage for a moment. "You can sort it afterwards. I need to speak to you now. It's a matter of… urgency.”

"Okay, okay…" Robin was confused as to why Frederick was suddenly talking so sternly towards her. It was almost completely different to how he had been for the past few days.

He quickly pulled her outside, into the snow, before looking at her worriedly. "Are you… Okay?"

"Why are you asking? I'm fine, Frederick."

"I just… Feel bad that I couldn't say anything when you thought that nobody trusted you before… I was… so worried about you..."

Oh. Robin bit her lip then, looking down at her feet as she kicked at a bit of snow. "Why?… It was my own thoughts causing that, you have no need to feel bad..."

Much to Robin's confusion, he then rested his hand upon her cheek. "I couldn't get you to smile, that's why."

"Smile… Literally every conversation that we have brings up smiling now..."

"I am aware of that, yes. And there is a reason…"

"Oh? And what is that?"

Frederick then smiled, adding to the irony of the conversation about them always trying to make each other smile. "Your smile… I like it. It sounds selfish, but I do like it." He _so desperately_ wanted to tell her that he wanted to see her happy… _make_ her happy… and to tell her his true feelings. But he didn't know how to convey it. He _loved_ her, but he couldn't let her know...

A small laugh was earned from the tactician, as she pulled her coat around herself tightly. She had never heard him being selfish about anything before, even though it is only over something as simple as a smile. "Is that so?" She smirked then, before she looked back. "Oh! I think that the food is-!"

"Wait." Frederick grabbed hold of her injured wrist then and looked at the bandage on it once more, before frowning at the horrible blister forming on her hand, and at the patch of fresh blood seeping over the old dried blood. "You hurt yourself again, and you failed to change the bandage this morning. What did you do?"

Robin could only gulp at him questioning her then. "I… scalded myself with some hot water, and it got me right in the centre of my palm… And I accidentally knocked a knife off the table when cutting vegetables… I promise though, there was no blood in the food!"

"That was a bit careless, wasn't it?" But much to Robin's surprise, he laughed at the explanation. "Gods, at the rate which you are going, I am going to have to supervise you all of the time! Not… that I would mind. I would like to keep supervising you..."

"Ah, I should stop injuring myself then!" She awkwardly laughed, not fully aware of how he had ended what he had said, before she tapped her foot. "You should go and eat. I need to change this bandage before I even go anywhere near the food now!"

"If that is what you want me to do." Frederick walked away with a smile then, leaving Robin stood alone in the snow. She went to where her things were being stored then, and after searching for a moment, she found some clean bandages.

And then, she suddenly realised something.

"Did he say… That he wouldn't mind supervising me __all__ of the time?..."


	2. Alone in the snowstorm and some not-so-sweet blackmail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uh... As I said last chapter, this is just a slightly edited version of the story I have posted on fanfiction.net, with this being chapters 3 and 4 on there...

A gentle hand taking hold of her own, fingers interlocking as she felt a warm breath against her neck. It was highly comforting, especially when she began to feel another hand slowly combing through her hair. She couldn't move, but it wasn't as though she wanted to. This was… An ideal situation. And then, after a few moments of what felt like a loving embrace, she then felt herself be pulled closer to whoever was holding onto her. Much to her shock, she then felt something which made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

She was being kissed.

Alas, the dream was not to last long. A violent shaking of her shoulder woke the tactician up, who had ended up going red in the face as she quickly remembered what had happened. "Robin, come on! We need to go to Arena Ferox, to see Basilio and Flavia! Apparently they went off ahead there yesterday!" Why did she have to be woke up?...

Lissa's voice made her grumble under her breath, as she never wanted to be woke up from that dream. But, if her duty called, she didn't really have much of an option. Despite that though… She still tried to push for a bit of extra time to herself. "Give me a few moments…” Blankets were then pulled over Robin's head. “About an hour's worth of moments… I'm not in the mood right now..."

"Too bad!" The princess grabbed Robin's (particularly sore) hand, and forced her to sit up. Lissa could see that Robin was still half-asleep, and she must have had a good dream – a massive contrast to what the tactician had been complaining about as of late. "Plus, you've left your boyfriend waiting~"

_Boyfriend?_ That confused the tactician for a moment, before she made the realisation on who the princess had meant. "Frederick is _not_ my boyfriend… How many times do I have to say that, Lissa? It's not like I say that you are going out with Gaius, just because I've seen how you're constantly talking together..." Robin growled, watching as Lissa failed to create a comeback. "Now, let me get dressed in peace… Tell everyone that I will meet with them in a minute."

Sulking, Lissa walked out of Robin's tent, and the tactician shook her head with a sigh when she grabbed hold of her shirt and coat. "Crazy princess… Frederick and I are not a couple..."

After a few minutes, she emerged in the snow and looked up at the grey clouds with a longing look on her face. She was hoping for some sort of snowstorm to delay them moving, and so that she could go back to sleep, and return to her dream. However, she knew that her wishes were likely not to be. Since when did weather _ever_ comply to anyone's wishes? Never, that was when.

Slowly, she trudged towards the centre of camp, aware that it was the chosen meeting place for if the Shepherds ever had to gather. With every step that she took, she kicked some snow forward, which is where she would then step next. Surprisingly, she found it quite relaxing to kick the snow, because she knew that it wouldn't blow into her face in a similar way to the Plegian sand. And it was _hard_ to get sand out of her mouth once it ended up inside it...

What happened next was even more of a shock. A large gust of wind, bringing along masses of snow. "Wh- What?!" She knew that Feroxi weather was unpredictable, but _gods,_ that almost scared her!

A figure in the distance was quick to emerge amongst the flurry of snow, but she could hardly make out who it was. "Robin! Quick, get out of the snow, apparently there is a snowstorm coming!" Frederick's voice calling out to her made her jump out of her skin. The figure _had_ to have been him. Just hearing what he had said made her heart skip a beat though. There was a snowstorm? After she had wished for one? It was as though the gods had heard her wishes. Once the knight was stood before her, he spoke again. "Robin, did you even hear me?!" He had to quickly grab hold of Robin's arms then, and shake her back to reality. "You don't want to suffer from hypothermia, or one of many illnesses induced by exposure to the cold, do you?!"

Her eyes grew wide, and a frantic shake of her head was given as she responded. "G- Gods, no!"

"Then get out of the snow!"

"You need to get out of it too!" Robin then had to take hold of his wrist despite him having his armour on, and she gave him a concerned look.

"I know! Just-!" The snow began to get even heavier then, and Robin had started to shiver violently as he had to quickly pull her into his tent, which was thankfully nearby. "Robin, what were you doing?… You didn't move, even when I told you about the snowstorm!"

"I was shocked… That's all..." She whispered, still dithering away inside her coat. Seeing that, Frederick grabbed hold of some blankets and threw them over her shoulders as he made her sit down. “And you didn't move either...” Frederick sighed as she said that, before attempting to peer outside. They knew that with just how heavy the snow was, they wouldn't be leaving the tent for a while. They were both glad that the tent was more than secure too, due to the heavy winds also.

Frederick didn't like seeing the tactician like this, shivering from the cold. He had been so worried about her, on account of her injuries and her fluctuating mental state, he had been close to asking Chrom what he had suggested to her yesterday – seeing if supervising her could become a permanent arrangement. He would endure all of Lissa's teasing and poking if it meant that he could return Robin to her pre-war state. He needed her optimism at times such as this.

And speaking of her optimism… "Robin… Could you possibly smile for me?"

Suddenly, the tactician looked up at Frederick at his sudden request. "Is this you being selfish again?" And so, she smiled. Just knowing that Frederick found her smiling because he asked her to selfish made her want to smile even more, at least when in his presence.

With a smile back, the knight nodded. "Yes, I believe so… I hope that you do not mind-"

"Why would I mind smiling for you? I mean, I smile when around you a majority of the time anyway, so…" She laughed quietly, and shook her head. She wouldn't finish that sentence, she didn't want Frederick to feel as though he was never selfish. She knew that everyone needed to be selfish every once in a while. "It doesn't matter… Hah, It doesn't matter at all."

"That's good that you don't mind me asking… Because I need to do something else which is self-centred..."

"What is that?…" Robin's curiosity was piqued.

Frederick could see the curiosity upon her face, so he was quick to shake his head."My apologies. I was talking to myself at that last part. Now, seeming as I have some time, I need to find something..."

"Would you like me to help?"

"No, you must warm up now." Frederick sounded extremely serious then, so Robin did as he said without saying no.

She began to then get lost in her thoughts as she pulled the blankets around her even more, not that she minded. The blankets were extremely warm and soft, and they smelled extraordinarily clean. He must have washed them recently. He really must do more around camp than she had initially expected. And on top of that, the blankets were very roomy, they were large enough to probably have at least two people wrapped up in it.

She wouldn't mind if she were able to just grab hold of Frederick and pull him under the blanket too, just so that she could feel warmer…

And then she squealed, burying her head into the blankets.

Frederick looked up from where he was searching as Robin made that sound, and gave her a concerned look. "Are you okay? You're not feeling unwell, are you?"

Robin's face became a rosy tint of red then, and she shook her head frantically. "O- Oh, I'm fine… Anyway, aren't you finding your armour… Heavy? It might get in the way whilst you are trying to look for whatever you are trying to find..."

"Hmm… You are quite right there. What I am looking for is rather small after all… Gods, I have never lost something so easily before..."

Robin nodded, and watched as Frederick quickly removed the bulkier parts of his armour.

She had honestly never expected him to wear what looked like some sort of suit underneath all of that armour. And gods, did she think that he looked good wearing that. Unfortunately, she ended up squealing again as she thought that. Her only method of action then was to pull the blankets over her head and mumble to herself.

"Robin, are you _s_ _ur_ _e_ that you are okay?" The tactician then felt a hand be placed upon her shoulder through the blankets, and it was enough to make her sigh before responding to his question. She nodded, hoping that the knight could see the blankets move as she did so. He must have done, seeming as his hand was removed, and in the fact that he didn't ask anything after that.

Frederick smiled as he looked at how Robin had retreated under the blankets, and chuckled quietly. He had noticed that she had been acting like this a lot around him recently, not that he minded. It was allowing her to be more open with him, and honesty between allies was definitely required at times such as this.

A few moments later, Frederick had caught sight of what he was looking for. He was glad that he had finally found it, as if he had lost it… He would never allow himself to live it down. After he had picked the object up and placed it inside a pocket, he sat down beside the tactician and laughed as he could hear her mumbling. "I never thought I would see the day where our tactician turned insane."

Robin pulled her head back out of the blankets and pouted. "I am most definitely _not_ insane. I'm just annoyed that the cold is getting to my arm."

That reminded him of the woman's injury, and also of the state which it was in the last time he had seen it. Could she have made the wound worse just by exposing it to the cold? "Can I see your arm?…"

"Why?..."

"I want to see how your wrist is doing..."

Slowly, she pushed her arm out, and she used her other hand to pull the bandage off. The large wound had thankfully healed enough for it to be stitched up, rather than be tightly compressed to prevent it from splitting open any more. It had stopped bleeding too, which was a huge relief also. "Does it hurt still?…"

Robin went and wrapped the bandage back around her wrist, and shrugged. "Only when touched…" Frederick nodded, so he refrained from touching it more than he had to.

After the silence, Robin yawned quietly. She was still tired from being abruptly woke up by Lissa before. "Hey… Um… Is the snow still heavy? It sounds it, doesn't it?… You can even see the build up on the tent's canvas...”

"I am going to make the assumption that it is. Anyway, are you tired? You can lie down in my bed, if you wish. I need to check my armour and make sure that it is sufficient enough to wear into battle… I do not wish to feel any more inadequate than I have been as of late..."

"Inadequate?..." Robin muttered, yawning as she decided to accept his offer and sit on his bed. "Gods, you are far from inadequate, Frederick… You saved my life, helped me whilst I tried to recover with my walking and fighting… You're keeping me sane… You saved me from getting buried in snow before… And that is only for me… Not anyone else… You're perfect – No, more than perfect as you are..." She smiled, before she lay down. "Anyone would be-" She cut herself off with a yawn. "lucky to have you help them as much as you helped me..."

"What was that?..." Frederick had missed the last part of what she was saying, due to her falling asleep as she spoke. "I couldn't hear you..."

Robin mumbled another inaudible response, before her eyes slowly drifted shut. There was no use in getting anything out of her now, with her being asleep.

"Gods, Frederick… You didn't even get time to finish that conversation with her..." He muttered to himself, before kneeling down beside his armour with a frown. "There are so many things that I need to talk to her about… Like whether she was sure about going back into combat as she has been doing so soon… Or… Ask what she was actually going to say then… without her falling asleep… Or even… Whether she...” He closed his eyes as his hands returned to his pocket, and traced his fingers over what he had put in there…

A ring.

/ / / / /

Things were falling to chaos in one part of the camp. "We can't get through to the other side of camp like this, most of our people are over there!" Chrom shouted, trying to keep snow out of his face. For three hours, the few members of the Shepherds who were not in the snowed In part of camp, thanks to being sheltered from the snow by trees, had been trying to get through to the rest of the camp. They were almost practically walled into a small area.

Running a cloth across his blade to wipe off remnants of dried blood, Lon'qu gave off a short utterance."Who is over there anyway?" The myrmidon wasn't exactly happy at how the snow was now at least up to the same height as his ribs.

The Ylissean prince glanced up at the dark clouds, and shook his head. "Too many people…" After that, Chrom sighed, just as Ricken quickly ran over to Chrom with a piece of parchment.

"Sully and Cordelia have managed to get the list of people together now! Their names are all on here!"

"Gods… You aren't telling me that only the six of us are not snowed in?!"

Nowi then flew down, morphing back into her human form. "Nope, I can't get to the tents! Some have collapsed under snow too! Though, I believe that many people have assembled in the food tent. I could hear voices from there faintly…"

Chrom frowned, before shaking his head. "We can't leave with it only being us then… Six out of a few dozen isn't good… at all.”

"D- Don't forget me!" Everyone jumped out of their skin seeing Kellam stood there.

"When did you escape from the snow!?" Nowi questioned curiously, and he sighed.

"I've been with you all since the snowstorm began..."

"Gods… At least we know that nobody got buried alive in the snow… I should hope."

/ / / / /

It was at least three hours later, and Frederick was beginning to have his patience tested as he had to start lighting candles to provide light and a slight bit of warmth for the tent. Both he and Robin had basically been snowed inside now. Much more snow, and the tent would give way with them inside. "This is dangerous now… Surely people would have started to have to try and recover those of us who cannot leave our tents..." He stated to himself, before hearing Robin stir.

She groggily sat up, and was shivering even under layers of blankets. "Hey there, Freddy Bear..." was the first thing that she muttered, before Frederick faintly smiled at her. She noticed very quickly that he was also starting to dither from the cold, so she silently stood up slowly, before sitting on the floor beside him. After that, she pulled the blankets partially off herself and pulled them over him also, just so that they could both be in warmth.

As he shivered, Frederick realised on as to what the woman had called him. "Please… Never use that nickname again."

"Aww… Why not?..."

"I do not like it. It reminds me of that whole-"

"Bear meat situation? I know, that's why I chose that nickname." Robin laughed, before she nestled herself into Frederick's side. "I feel so cold…" Her fingers laced around his arms then, and she almost dug her nails into the material of his shirt.

His free arm then wrapped around her, and he took a few shaky breaths thanks to the temperature. "I know… So do I..." Frederick whispered, holding her closer so that they could share more warmth.

"Who knew that snow could be so… Brutal?"

The knight glanced upwards, and his embrace became much tighter – perhaps almost intimate. He needed Robin with him at times such as this… "Yes… But with you, it doesn't feel so bad."

Robin had to pull her knees up to her chest then, just to preserve the warmth of her body. "Really? That's sweet…” Her eyes then moved to look at his, and he was doing anything he could to not make direct eye-contact. “How come you say that?"

"Because..." Frederick burst out laughing then, closing his eyes in the process. "I can not tell as to whether this is the snow getting to me, but-" He stopped then, and shook his head.

What _was_ he doing?

"Frederick, don't go quiet like that! I thought that you had suddenly gone into shock from the-!" Frederick had ended up cutting her off by tightening his grasp of her. He was shivering even more than her, and it just made her worried more than she had been previously. "Gods, are you okay?! This isn't like you!"

"I- I will be fine… I will be… More than fine. Thanks to you… I am in your debt..."

"Thanks to me? I haven't exactly done much-"

"No… You have done more than enough… Just with you talking to me, it is more than enough..."

"Oh… Really?… Well, I'm glad to be of service for talking to you!" She laughed quietly, having to pull even closer to him. Hell, she was practically sat upon his lap by that point in time. She was feeling scared too, as the top of the tent was starting to cave in from the snow, and she didn't want to be buried under it without grabbing hold of something. That something was Frederick, as he was the closest thing to her.

Frederick quickly became aware with how much more dire the situation was becoming, and he too kept Robin held close to him. He had never witnessed a Feroxi snowstorm so deadly in his life. So, to keep Robin's mind off it, he continued to talk to her…

After a few more minutes of talking to Robin to try and keep her mind off the tent possibly collapsing in on them at any moment, Frederick decided that maybe he should tell her about what he was looking for previously. "You know what I was looking for before?… Well, I needed to find it because I made a promise to myself yesterday… I swore that if we ever got time alone, preferably today…” Without her even noticing, he reached into his pocket and was able to take hold of the ring. “I would offer you… this."

Robin had to carefully look at what Frederick had hold of, before her eyes filled up with confusion. "Huh? A ring?… But why?" It took a few more moments for Robin to realise what Frederick was really wanting to say, it being made more obvious upon his face turning a flustered red. And as much as Robin wanted to point out that the knight looked too damn handsome when flustered like that, she just couldn't think of the right words as her face ended up almost identical in terms of embarrassment.

"I… Have fallen in love with you, Robin… At first, I passed off people such as Lissa saying that I loved you as talking nonsense… But I realise that it is much less nonsense now..."

"Wh- What?!" Robin gasped as she shivered, before she too went red in the face. "I did not see this coming… At all… You are serious about this?..."

"More than anything… It is just that… I thought that once you had recovered fully, we would have no reason to spend so much time together… You are busy as a tactician, and I would be busy as a knight and keeping things in order..." Frederick looked up, and realised that he would have to say what he wanted to quickly. The top of the tent was at the verge of tearing and giving way under the pressure. "And I cannot bear the thought of leaving your side for long, Robin… It did not take me long to realise that I had no other choice but to confess to you… Well… As a matter of fact, I have been wanting to say this to you ever since you helped me with my phobia of eating bear meat, but recently… My love has become more..."

Robin pulled apart from him for a moment, her eyes watering up as she put on a smile. "I… don't know what to say… Well, other than wanting to tell a girl that you love her after you manage to actually swallow a mouthful of bear?… It's probably the most unromantic thing I have ever heard!"

"W- Well… Yes, but-"

"Oh, don't worry yourself, Frederick!” The way that she had been feeling as of late, with the strange, intimate dreams and the fact that she had been wanting to spend more and more time with him… It was all fitting into place now. “I've been in love with you for a while now too, without even realising it..." She laughed quietly, holding onto him to tightly so that she could feel the warmth of his body more than she previously had done, before closing her eyes with a smile.

"Gods, there's that smile again… But you will do me a great honour, milady… You will not regret this, I swear to you..." Robin laughed again, quickly taking hold of the hand which he had been holding onto the ring with for the whole time. Frederick quickly took that as an opportunity to smile back at her, and then kiss her hand gently. "My heart is yours, milady… I vow to protect you as a knight, and also as a husband, until death should part us..."

Robin could feel her heart pounding then, and she felt too flustered to say anything after that. Gods, she had never really thought of Frederick as the romantic type, and this had proved that he was barely just capable of it. It was adorable, the way that he was trying to be romantic though. As a matter of fact, she loved this side of him just as much as his knightly side.

And gods, the sudden kiss afterwards once she had been able to put the ring upon her finger… It made her feel almost exactly as her dream had done previously. It was one of the only good things which had come from the snowstorm.

Moments later though, some of the top of the tent tore, and snow fell down behind them, quickly piling up and taking up a lot of space.

"Ack-! Oh gods… We're in trouble now… We're in so much trouble…" She had jumped up to her feet, and was shaking as her hands covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming in fear.

"Robin, stop panicking!" Frederick then quickly pulled her into a corner of the tent, still keeping a firm grasp of her and her hand.

However, Robin was barely able to process what he was saying.

_Does this all mean that… Our final moments before getting buried alive were the ones where we confessed our love?… Would it have all been for nothing?…_

/ / / / /

"Gods, that is one of the worst places in Ferox for snowstorms! Are you all okay?" Flavia expressed her concerns for the Shepherds, seeing the state that some members were in. Some people were shivering under blankets, and others were expressing more concern for the animals which had been caught up in the snow.

With a sigh, Chrom looked at his allies and frowned. "We were too tired to move on… That's the only reason that we stayed there. At least we managed to recover everyone from the snowed in part of camp."

The entire afternoon of that day had been spent trying to locate everyone who had, unfortunately, been caught up in the worst of everything. Many people had managed to gather in only one or two tents – namely ones with food and warmth – and others had ended up trying to melt through the snow with tomes, and eventually broke free.

And then there was Frederick and Robin on their own, struggling not to be buried alive by snow. If it weren't for Nowi using her wings and Ricken using his wind tome in order to blow the snow away once the storm subsided a bit, that would have probably been the case. What shocked people though, was that they had only managed to get away with a bit of a chill.

At the side of the room, a few of the Shepherds had gathered and were having a very 'serious' conversation.

"So, Robin, why were you holding onto him when we found you?" Nowi cheekily questioned, poking the tactician in the cheek as she flushed red.

"W- We were cold! There was no warmth in there whatsoever!"

"Uh huh. And why are you hiding your hand, Robin?" Cordelia had noticed the sudden action of the tactician, which had straight away come off as suspicious. "Is there something about your hand that you don't want us to see?"

Quickly, Robin went into 'panic mode'. "I'm not hiding anything! Never have been hiding anything, never will!" She folded her arms then, and turned away quickly. "A- Anyway, if I were to hide anything, I- I wouldn't hide it from you!"

Lissa, however, knew exactly what was up with Robin. "I think that I know what has happened today! I bet… _He asked you to marry him._ I saw that ring on your hand before, when we were on our way here!" The princess smugly smiled at her then, before it turned into a face of pure happiness. "It's about time that Frederick found someone other than me and Chrom to dote over! Though…. I'm kinda jealous! It means that I have to do more things by myself, without his help..." The smile quickly fell then, and Lissa sighed deeply. Just the idea of not having Frederick constantly trying to keep her out of harm's way worried her a bit.

Now, that shocked Robin greatly. Her initial reaction was that she (and likely Frederick also) would face Lissa's teasing for as long as she would ever live once the princess had found out about their engagement. And that wasn't the case at all. Knowing that, the woman slowly unfolded her arms, and then looked at her hand with a sigh. "You know… Frederick doesn't know much about romance. At all. Absolutely nothing like those romance novels that Sumia requested I read..."

"Ooooh, what happened?! Come on, you need to tell us now that you have brought that up!"

"Um… I probably shouldn't… Chrom said that he would need me at any-!"

"You're telling us, Robin. Even if we have to force it out of you."

Gods, did Robin not really want to say any more than she had done… But she had no choice. "Ugh...Fine."

Ten minutes later, Robin let out a deep sigh once she had explained the entire situation which had led to her becoming an engaged woman. "Wait… He confessed to you to stop you from thinking about you possibly getting caught under the snow? No wonder you didn't want to stay away from him until me and Ricken managed to get rid of all of it and got you two back to the others!" Nowi grinned, finding the short story which Robin had told cute. As a matter of fact, Cordelia and Lissa found the story just as cute.

"Hah, time to tease Frederick over him wanting to marry you over bear meat-!"

Robin cast a frantic glance towards Frederick, and noticed him wrapped up in a blanket as he spoke to Chrom, Basilio and Flavia in the corner of the room. She didn't want him to end up being teased, especially at the moment. "Do that, and I will tell Gaius about your own secret stash of candy that you are trying to keep away from him."

"H- How do you know that!?"

"I'm the tactician. All that I need to say. Now… I really don't want to talk about this any more… I never really wanted anyone to know until the war is over… And if Chrom finds out about this too..." Gods, the tactician didn't want to think about what would happen. Chrom was a slight bit protective of her, but not to the extent of Frederick. Either way, if he knew… She and Frederick would be getting interrogated. A lot. "So, until this war is over, and we have won… I am just a tactician, and he is just a knight. Allies, and nothing more."

From the corner of her eyes, she could see Frederick now looking over to her, smiling and giving a brief nod at what she had said. It seemed as though he had heard everything that had been said. And then, he pointed to his mouth.

She got what he was trying to say.

Well, it was a common theme in their conversations – verbal and non-verbal by that point.

He was telling her to smile.

/ / / / /

It was a few days later, and everyone had recovered from the snow incident They were back in the Plegian desert, preparing to bring the war to a close. In one part of the camp, Chrom and Frederick were training together.

To the side. To the other side. Duck down.

It was more than easy to read Chrom's actions in training for Frederick. He would constantly swing his sword in the same three directions, every so often switching the order of each. Sometimes, he would try to jump up and catch the knight off-guard, but moving to the side was enough to avoid that attack.

"Gods, Frederick! How can you keep dodging my attacks like that?" Chrom sighed, planting the tip of his sword into the ground as he look a break. He was exhausted from his inaccurate attacks.

The knight stood his lance up, and laughed quietly. "You use the same attacks over and over – after training with you since you were thirteen, it is quite easy to read your actions."

"You make it sound as though you are much older than me! Need I remind you that you only have two years on me, Frederick?"

"My apologies if it sounded as though I was trying to infer such thoughts. I was simply implying that it has been quite a few years since we started to train like this." Frederick sighed, before chuckling quietly. Had he actually been training with Chrom to help him fight for six years?

But either way, the prince's words hung over his head. Did he actually act as though he was much older than he currently was? Chrom was only nineteen after all, and as he said, he was only two years older. Lissa had implied such similar things too in the past, saying that he seemed as though he was a few years older than just twenty-one.

_If he acted much older than he was, perhaps he should do something which makes him seem more… his age._

"Milord… I need to go for now."

"How come? You said that we had an hour to be able to train-"

"I need to see Robin."

"Robin? But- Oh… He's gone. Gods, nothing can stop that knight when he gets his mind set on something..." The prince laughed, picking up the sword which he had borrowed from the convoy to practise with, before deciding to return it. Though… He was confused. Why did he need to see Robin so suddenly? Chrom wouldn't let it bother him for long though, other things needed to be his priority now that the Shepherds had returned to Plegia – this time to kill the king.

"I have to do this… For what that dastardly king did to Emm..."

/ / / / /

"Hmm… So, if we split out our units into three sections… One group could intercept the wyvern brigades which are gathering to the west – our east – and take them out. It would only have to be a small group, they can wait to ambush them from the abandoned forts…" Robin nodded to herself in satisfaction with her plan, and quickly made note of it in a scruffy looking notebook which was resting on her desk. Ever since she was fully reassured that the Shepherds did trust her, and weren't going to tease her for her feelings towards Frederick, she had been much more optimistic about her plans to dethrone the mad king.

Taking a sip of some tea, she then crossed her left leg over her right and began to tap the foot still on the ground. "Our second group would also have to be small, to slip through the Plegian ranks and get direct access to Gangrel… I have no choice but for that to be me and Chrom, as we would need our healers in the brunt of everything to heal those attacking the Plegian ranks, and our mounted units would be too noisy, they would get too much attention if they went to that stupid king… Plus… Both me and Chrom have out own bones to pick with that bastard..." She muttered, writing what she said down, word for word, in the notepad too.

That was when she closed her eyes, and yawned. "I've been working on this plan for about an hour now… Can thinking really make me so tired so quickly?… It never used to..." She whispered, resting her head on the plan for a moment. "A short nap… won't bother anyone..."

Closing her eyes, it didn't take long for Robin to slip into a sleep-like state. She could hear any little nearby movements, and could feel the warmth of the flame of her candle suddenly vanish. It must have blew out.

Moments later, there was a slight bit of movement near the entrance of her tent, and there was a sigh. "She's asleep… But she can injure her back, falling asleep like that..." The voice trailed off as her sleep became suddenly deeper, and her awareness of things around her started to fade away, allowing her to dream peacefully.

The person who had walked in? Frederick, of course. He had to see if Robin was okay, seeming as nobody in camp had seen her since the morning. "… She's been planning a lot… Reading too. She shouldn't have done so much, she could have strained herself to the point of injury..." He muttered, picking her up from her seat gently. He didn't want to wake her up, after all… But at the same time, he __wanted__ her awake, Just to hear her voice, feel her gentle touch, see her __smile.__

That was the reason that he had wanted to visit her, over training with Chrom. Since being told that he sounded as though he were older than he actually happened to be, he wanted to find a way to feel just… A bit more carefree, and she was the key to it. He wanted __her help specifically__ to help him feel that way. It couldn't be anyone else. Sure, Lissa had been showing him how to relax, but he couldn't properly unless he was with Robin.

Holding onto the tactician's lightly sleeping figure gave the man various reminders at how much more fragile she was than what she seemed. Her figure was so slim, and her body light. And gods, her legs were the worst offenders in that of them all. It took him all of his might not to think that he was to be the only one who could ever see just how beautiful her figure really could be – though he was unaware of a particular bathing tent incident where Chrom had seen her naked, but he didn't have to hear about that. Ever. Robin would never allow herself or the prince to live it down if he did.

Slowly, Frederick sat down on her bed, still holding onto her tightly. He didn't know what to do with her like this. Should he just leave her here to sleep, and go do something else? But if she woke up if he did this… He wouldn't be able to talk to her as soon as possible. That's what he wanted.

Gods, how he had never felt this greedy before in his life. He was desperately wanting things… It was so strange that it had only been happening since he confessed his love to Robin. Want this, want that. No in-between – he wouldn't settle properly until he got what he wanted, even if it was just a smile that he did want.

This woman was changing almost everything about his character that he had built up over years in mere weeks.

"Crafty thing… To think, I was hostile towards her at first, wanting to eliminate her if she did anything out of line… And now, I'm in love..." Robin then suddenly pulled herself closer to him as he said that, making the knight laugh at how she just had to be comfortable in her sleep. "Have a good rest, Robin..."

/ / / / /

What a fortunate time for Robin to wake up, and realise that it was the middle of the night. She had become fed up as it was with the cold climate of Ferox, so now having to return to Plegia, and have it be just as cold at night? It irritated her beyond belief.

However, there was some comfort to her. Warm arms secured around her waist made her feel as though she was safe from the danger of the temperature. "Wait one second… Arms around my waist?..." The tactician then opened her eyes fully, and noticed that lying asleep right beside her was Frederick. Well, it was more as though she could feel, than see. She was pulled up against him, and she could feel his warm breath on her neck. With the added matter that they had ended up under the same blanket, presumably because Frederick knew that it would be cold at night, Robin could only feel flustered.

It felt rather intimate to her, and they __had__ promised that they would try and keep things down low – Cordelia, Lissa, and Nowi also being forced into secrecy about them – until Gangrel had fallen…

And now, they were like this.

Gods, it felt so strange, but wow… It felt so right for the woman. She knew that she had never had such an overwhelming feeling through her body before, but she got used to the feeling quickly.

There was only one thing though… She needed to finish her plan, and she had until sunrise to complete it and show it to Chrom. So, she had to find a way to get the knight to let go of her… But without waking him up. A difficult task.

Ever so carefully, she moved the arm over her to behind her, trying not to make any sudden movements. That was done successfully. The next part was the difficult part. Trying not to be noisy as she got out of bed, as she was aware of the piles of books and various other belongings around the tent on the floor.

Her coat was the main reason behind her tripping up moments after standing up.

"Ah! Gods, that hurt my wrist!" She hissed out loud, trying to gently hold onto the bandaged part of her arm. It was too sore for her to cope with, having just woke up, so she just hit the floor with her other hand with a closed fist… And hit a book. "Ow… Not my other hand..."

"Robin… What are you doing?..."

The tired voice of Frederick made Robin sigh deeply as she tried not to complain about the pain. "I… Fell asleep mid-plan… I need to finish it." The knight had sat up by the time that she had finished speaking, and was rubbing his eyes as he tried to look at her on the ground.

"You're tired though… And by the looks of things, hurt too..."

"I have until sunrise. I need to get it done."

"No, you're not. I can buy you some time in the morning."

Robin shook her head as she stood up, and then looked at her wrist with a small whimper. The way in which she had hit the floor had managed to split open her wound even more, and it had started to bleed again, thankfully only lightly. However, the sight of blood on her body now was starting the make her panic a bit, in worry that she would end up in a situation like the other week again.

She completely ignored Frederick telling her to try and go back to sleep, and sat down at her desk. "You always do work when we tell you not to… So I feel as though I should do the same too..." She muttered, before she decided to light a candle which was next to her. After that, she re-opened her battered notebook."It won't take long anyway-!"

Frederick had suddenly grabbed hold of her from behind, and she could feel one of his arms reach past her to close the book. He didn't want her planning. Not right now.

"If you won't go back to bed… I will make you, Robin." He suddenly pulled her up to her feet, and looked at her wrist. "Plus, you shouldn't be doing anything with that wrist. You should really get Lissa, Maribelle or Libra to look at it properly, over you tending to it yourself." That was when he wrapped his arms around her fully, not allowing her to pull away and try to continue working on her strategy. "I don't want you straining yourself, Robin… I would feel responsible if you collapsed with exhaustion on the battlefield, or if you fell asleep in the middle of one of the war council meetings."

Robin couldn't think of a response to that. She __knew__ that he was right… But she also knew that she had to get that plan done. "But… But..."

He shook his head, and ran his hand through her hair as he pulled her closer, so that she could feel his breath against her neck. "No buts, Robin. You're too tired for planning..." As she went to shake her head, she felt as though she had… Been through this before. But she hadn't, not from what she could remember.

His grasp of her tightened as she tried to look back at her desk, and his hand settled in one place behind her head. "Robin, you can't do this to yourself…" And then, he kissed her gently, showing his concern for her welfare as he kept hold of her.

"Fine… Fine, you've persuaded me, I'll rest… But you had better get me that extra time in the morning that you mentioned earlier..." Robin whispered once she felt Frederick loosen his grasp of her, before she gasped as he leaned in once more for another kiss.

“First, however...” He had finally settled his arms into a comfortable position on her back, before his lips moved just a slight bit closer to her ear. “I want to ask you something.” Once she had nodded for him to go ahead, he inhaled deeply and began to speak. “Before… I was training with milord. And he said to me… That I act much older than my age… May you, um...” His voice was very quiet by that point, and he seemed rather unsure on what to say.

The woman took hold of his cheeks then, before resting her forehead against his. “Take your time… I'm still listening… I'm always listening, Frederick...” She then gave him a gentle kiss, and noticed his feet shifting a slight bit on the ground. “Frederick?...”

“May you- Ah… May _we…_ Sleep together?… Perhaps such an act… Could help me seem more my age, and with you too… It would make me so much happier.” He mentally kicked himself for wording his request in such a way, but didn't want her to know that…

Perhaps, seeming as they had only been in a relationship for little over a week, she would decline… So many possible outcomes were rushing through his head.

“Weren't we sleeping together any-!”

What she was saying made his eyes grow wide, and he shook his head almost frantically. “N- No! Not like that, my dear!” He then loosened his grasp of her, before biting his lip as her face slowly changed when she realised what he was actually suggesting. He had never expected her to then kiss his nose and then smile at him as she nodded. “W- Wait, you… You are… Willing?...”

She nodded once more, and then rested her head upon his shoulder. “Frederick… Of course I'm willing… If you are really so insistent on me not doing my job, you can make up for it with giving me a new experience… A new memory...” Robin then felt his hands move closer to her hips, and she then looked at his chest moving as he breathed. “Just as long as nobody finds out, considering that we're keeping our relationship a secret at the moment...” Once he was able to smile back at her, the two then shared another kiss, hoping that this wouldn't be something that they would regret...

/ / / / /

In the middle of camp, Robin was beginning to feel exasperated. "Bubbles. You're keeping a secret from me, aren't you? No, two. You're keeping two secrets from me." Gaius had been pestering the tactician for about twenty minutes by that point, and frankly, she was getting annoyed at it. She _was_ used to having people hassling her, just not to _that_ extent.

She shook her head as she pursed her lips together, whilst holding onto her notebook tightly. "Can you just let me go and see Chrom, Gaius? I have a strategy which is _already_ late to give to him, and I can't keep pushing him for extra time!”

"Nope." The thief pulled the lollipop out of his mouth, and waved it around near Robin's face, making her wince as his saliva went all over the place. “And it wasn't _you_ who asked for extra time, it was the knight _for_ you.”

Wiping the sweet saliva off her face, Robin was starting to want to punch the thief. "You're disgusting… Surely you could have finished the candy before waving it around like that?"

"Again, nope."

Robin was almost beyond frustrated by that point, and taking advantage of that, Gaius quickly snatched the book from the tactician's hands and began to flick through the pages. Primarily, he was just looking at her various different plans from the past, and her plan for the fight against Gangrel that afternoon. "Gods, Bubbles. Do you ever actually have any spare time? You're like that knight. Never stop to do _anything_ normal because of your silly duties. Oh wait, I bet it's because of the amount of time that you spend with-" He suddenly spotted a page of interest to him then. "Oh… Now what do we have here? Some of Bubbles' dirty secrets?"

Robin twitched as Gaius said that out loud, before trying to snatch the book back. Yes, the front of the book was full to the brim with plans… But due to her limited amount of gold, she was having to use the back of the book as some sort of diary, just in case her amnesia became worse and she lost her new memories also. And as Gaius had said… Some things which she had wrote in there were highly private. Not exactly 'dirty', but still private.

Gods, she had even wrote about the time in which she had accidentally walked in on Chrom as he bathed almost after he had walked into her; the similar bathing situation with Gaius himself; the pranks that she and Lissa had pulled on each other… And also about everything that had happened between her and Frederick, from the bear meat situation, to the proposal, and even that night…

And then her eyes grew wide. If Gaius had read about what had happened that night…

"Now, this is juicy…" The man quickly pushed Robin's shoulder as he strolled past her, sucking on his lollipop intently as he got into the details upon the page.

The tactician's eyes grew wide. _If Gaius was to find out about her and Frederick being engaged, and having already had sex together… That would have been the end of their secrecy!_ "Wh- What are you reading?! J- Just give it back, I need to show Chrom the plan for later! You don't want to __die__ _ _in battle__ _ _,__ do you?!"

Just to irritate her even further, Gaius stuck his now candy-less lollipop stick into the book, and began to laugh loudly. "So, you and the nanny, huh? And wow, the details that you went into about his body from- Hah, last night? Now, this is definitely worth letting Princess know for some candy…" The thief snickered, before he went to walk away with the book.

Robin had to quickly come up with a last resort, and fortunately, it came to her quickly enough. "You don't want me to tell anyone about your mark, do you?!" And so, the thief froze on the spot. Robin didn't want to blackmail him as such, but if he went and opened his mouth about this to Lissa… She didn't even want to think about it. It was bad enough that she already knew of the relationship!

Quickly, Gaius went back over to the tactician, and grabbed her chin, pulling her face close to his. "Now, look here, Robin..." She could tell that Gaius was serious about what he was saying – he had used her actual name, not a nickname – and the bitter tone of his voice adding to his genuine irritation. "That is __over__ now. I've paid you back for you not to say a word about that, so you had better not tell __anyone.__ Or maybe, I will just tell them your secret. You don't want the rest of the camp to know about your experience with Frederick and his ' _well-built, muscular body'_ that you ' _just wanted to touch all over - quite literally'_ last night, do you?" The sickly sweet smell of Gaius' breath was making her wince. The threat was also making her worry.

"G- Give the book back..."

Practically in her face, the book was slammed shut. "You know what? Nope. I'm keeping hold of this now. You have a good enough memory to tell Blue your plan _without_ this shoddy book." He mumbled, before letting go of her face and quickly leaving the tactician stood there, paralysed in shock. Gaius had never been so aggressive towards her before, and it was scary. Never before had she ever felt so scared of an ally. Even more than she was scared of Tharja.

And gods, was Tharja scary to her.

She stood there shaking for a few minutes, until she felt a hand on her shoulder. "There you are, Robin! I've been looking for you for a while now! I need to know your-" It was Chrom who was there, but he was hardly a reassuring presence for the tactician. Not after what had just happened. "Robin?… You look as though you have seen a ghost..."

"N- No… I'm fine..."

"Something isn't right with you… You should sit down for a minute-"

"I said that I am FINE!"

"R- Robin! I was just saying-!"

"S- Sorry… It's just… Bad night's sleep, okay?..."

Chrom gave his tactician a worried look as she slowly decided to use her coat to hide her face, by pulling her hood up. "Come on… What is it that you and Frederick seem to keep saying to each other? Smile, is it?..."

Robin started shaking her head, and after a moment, it was very frantic. "That only really works with Frederick… And maybe you should ask him about the plan… He was with me as I finished it off, he should know it… I'm not in the mood…" Then she turned to face the prince, before holding onto her arms. “N- Not me… Just please… I can't...”

"No. I need to hear it from you-"

"Why?!"

"Because… I can only trust my tactics from you, Robin… You've always helped up pull through, and I don't want to fail now… You're the tactician. The Shepherds' tactician. __My__ tactician. We are all relying on you… So I can only trust the plan from you..."

Reluctantly, Robin looked down at the ground and shrugged her shoulders. "Fine then…"

"Good. Now come on, we don't have much time left to prepare..."

/ / / / /

It was finally time for the final assault on the Plegian army. There was just Gangrel, and his few remaining loyal lackeys left now. They weren't much of a big deal to the Shepherds, despite being outnumbered.

"Okay… Lon'qu, Tharja, Ricken, Nowi and… Libra. You all head to our east. Wyverns are approaching us from there. The plan is to hide in the abandoned forts and ambush them!" Robin shouted from where she was stood with Chrom, holding a sword, ready for the final fight. She had finally managed to get her plan memorised – even without her book, which Gaius was still holding hostage – and was now calling out the instructions to the Shepherds who didn't know the plan. "Chrom is sticking with me, and the two of us are going to slip through the remaining Plegian forces to get Gangrel. Everyone else, keep them off us! If anything does happen to me or Chrom, Frederick, you need to step in to fight Gangrel next – just without your horse. Lissa, you must also go with him for healing backup for whichever of me or Chrom are ailed. If he falls too, we retreat."

The Shepherds were evidently feeling quite uneasy, knowing that this would be all or nothing. They would either win the war, and Ylisse would be safe… Or they lose their leaders, lose their country and the war too.

One thing which was constantly in the corner of her eye though… Was Gaius. He was casting her vaguely angry looks every so often, yet at times, they were playful looks. He was evidently trying to make her regret even trying to use her last resort earlier.

"Right then… Here come the Plegians! Get ready!" Chrom the shouted out, drawing Falchion from its sheath and grinning at Robin. He was ready for this… So it made her feel more ready than Gaius was trying to allow her be.

She did, however, cast a few worried glanced towards Frederick before the fighting began, so as a reassurance, he smiled at her. Lissa giggled at that, just for Cordelia to hit her over the head to make her pay attention, and not draw any focus towards Robin and Frederick's relationship.

And so, the fighting began. Chrom quickly gestured for Robin to follow him, after spotting Gangrel about half-way down the newly designated battlefield. The two worked well as a pair – it was evident in how well they were able to read each other's actions because of how much they had fought and trained together in the past.

There was only one small thing which nobody had seen coming though… Gangrel had more reinforcements than expected.

As a blade swung by Robin's face, Chrom quickly used Falchion to hold it off as Robin then went in for the kill. It had been about the third time over the past few minutes that something like that had happened. As she pulled her sword back, Robin quickly turned around and gasped. "Chrom! Look out!"

The prince jumped out of his skin at Robin's yell, before seeing her quickly get in the way of an arrow directed right for him. It pierced her directly in the shoulder, and she winced in pain as she quickly pulled it out. "U- Ugh… Blood… I don't like the sight of my own blood..." she mumbled, using her opposite hand – the one with her injured wrist – to try and compress the wound and stem the bleeding.

"Robin! Do you want me to get Lissa or Maribelle?!"

"N- No… I should be- Gods, they're attacking again!" Chrom had to then quickly swing Falchion to cut the arrows as they flew towards them to stop them in their tracks, and then went to attack the archers which had appeared at Gangrel's command. Unfortunately, he had also got pieced by an arrow in his hand just as he finished the archer off. "These Plegians… They're… Playing dirty..."

"Just like a certain tactician we all know and, in some cases, love."

The sudden voice made the injured pair jump out of their skin. That voice was the _least_ bit assuring for Robin. "Gaius! Shouldn't you be helping the others?!" was all that Chrom could respond with.

The thief slung his arm over Robin's shoulders, and Chrom winced as he saw her face contort with pain thanks to her injury. "Yep. But nope. I need to have a word with Bubbles."

"Not now! We're hurt, and Plegian soldiers are coming out of-!"

"Shut up, Blue. This is between me and her."

"If this is to do with what happened before, I'm sorry, okay?! But now isn't the time for-!"

"You should really use your tome. Gangrel has a Levin sword. He can attack you with magic from a distance using it. All that I wanted you to know, Bubbles. I'm talking to you about before __after__ the battle though." Robin was shocked at that. How did Gaius know this piece of valuable information? But now wasn't the time for asking questions – it was the time for action. She nodded her thanks, before tucking her sword into her coat and pulling out her tome.

It was quite evidently a new tome also – obviously Frederick's doing. That made her smile, knowing that he had been looking out for her when they were preparing for battle.

Moments later, Robin suddenly noticed that Gaius had gone back into the middle of the battle to the left, and she sighed as Chrom went and nudged her arm without the injured shoulder, trying not to make contact using his hand. "Robin… I'm wondering… Could you possibly distract Gangrel with your magic, so that I could get close and kill him?"

"Huh?… Oh… Yes. Yes, that could work out better than our current plan..."

So, Robin quickly ran as far forward as she could as soon as she could, as Gaius had managed to also get Lissa to go over to the two and heal them as much as she could to prevent their wounds from becoming as bad as Robin's wrist had done. As Robin did this, Chrom was fighting with anyone that tried to hinder her progress towards the mad king. Lissa, out of worry for her brother, decided to tag along too.

As soon as Robin was in position, she gave Chrom the thumbs up to carefully get behind Gangrel to kill him, whilst she created a distraction. "So…” She rose an eyebrow when she was aware that the Plegian king had noticed her. “Surprised to see me? I bet you're surprised that I survived you sending assassins after me a few weeks ago..." she shouted, casting a glare at the Plegian king as he turned to face her. He was annoyed that she was the one who was trying to face him.

He was expecting Chrom, __not__ her. "As if I care! You will all be dead by the end of this, so what does it matter about you being alive __now__?!"

Now _that_ annoyed the tactician. "Oh, it matters a hell of a lot..." Robin quickly growled back, getting ready with her tome.

And so, the violent throwing of magic began.

There was one thing concerning Robin about the magic from Gangrel's sword though… When it came into contact with her, it felt as sharp as a blade. She had no choice but to keep avoiding it as she used her tome, or else it would put Chrom and Lissa in trouble, as he would then see them trying to get close to him. They had, after all, got caught up to by a few more Plegian soldiers.

"Gods… This is going to take a while..."

/ / / / /

"It's over! Finally!" Lissa grinned about twenty minutes later. Yes, the battle had been won… Robin and Chrom were both bleeding quite a bit, on account of the way in which Gangrel had been attacking them until his bitter end. As a matter of fact, everyone __but__ Lissa was bleeding because of how rough their battles had been.

Robin fell to her knees and began laughing quite a bit, almost maniacally, because of how much she was worried that the plan wouldn't have worked due to her having to memorise it and not use her book. Everyone looked at the tactician as she did that, before they too also burst out laughing. It was quite funny, the way in which they could see Robin turning a bit insane through happiness.

Especially to Frederick.

He hadn't been able to see Robin since that morning other than when they all had assembled on the battlefield, and he had no idea about everything which had been on her mind that day.

"So… Now that's over… Who wants to hear something delicious?" Gaius' voice rung out over the rest, and it quickly made everyone shut up. Robin was staring at him with wide eyes.

“G- Gaius, you _dare_!” Her shrill cry was enough to make people wince.

"You'll never guess what our dear tactician Bubbles and the wary knight were up to before sunrise this morning..."


	3. Before the return to Ylisse//Surprise wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really had a hard time trying to edit this chapter quite a bit... God damn it...

"No… No sign of the three of them anywhere..." Sumia muttered as she met up with Chrom and Lissa, who were starting to get worried.

After Gaius had decided to tell _everyone_ about everything that had happened between Robin and Frederick, Robin had gone and ran off somewhere because she was that upset that he did that. Frederick quickly went to find her, but he hadn't been seen since. Gaius ended up slinking off somewhere whilst this was happening, so they couldn't question him as to why he did went and did that.

Lissa had an extremely concerned face on, her brow furrowed and her eyes cast down at the ground. "I'm not surprised that Robin was so upset though…” Her face softened then, before taking another quick glimpse around for one of the three that they were trying to look for. “Only me, Cordelia and Nowi knew about her and Frederick! And we were told not to tell anyone! I don't know how Gaius found out about it!”

Chrom mumbled under his breath, before shaking his head with a sigh. That must have been what he had overheard him talking to Robin about that morning, forcing her to stay quiet about something… But right now, he was more worried about Robin and Frederick's wellbeing, Robin's more than anything. Yes, he was initially shocked at the nature of their relationship so soon… But he was happy for them. He didn't want them thinking that he – or anyone else – would stop trusting them over what the candy loving thief had done.

As well as that… One other thing was on everyone's minds.

What was Gaius' motive to do that in front of everyone? Surely he had a reason…

"Come on… We should keep looking for them..."

/ / / / /

Meanwhile, Robin was sobbing as she sat underneath a tree near a small body of water, which she was surprised to have found in the middle of Plegia. "Stupid… I'm so stupid… I should have just saved up some more gold and got myself a book more private… That, or I could have found a way to put a magic seal on it..." She muttered, hugging her knees as she tried not to be too loud, or else she would probably draw attention to herself. She didn't want any attention – especially with how humiliated that she felt.

Slowly, she took off her coat, just so that she could look at the injury on her wrist after unwrapping the bandage. "… Maybe now… This dumb thing can heal..." She poked at it a moment, before wincing. One thing which Robin had forgotten was the pain which she experienced when anything touched it. "It's been what, two, three weeks now?… It's better than it was… Thankfully it hasn't got infected because of how often me and Frederick have tended to it..."

That then led to her crying. She just wanted to forget everything now, all because of Gaius. She had just gone and spent a year earning everyone's trust, just for it to all be threw away in under a minute.

At least that was what she thought.

"Was it even worth building up trust-?” Her eyes shot open, before another wave of tears went and hit her. “Gods, why am I thinking like this?! Of course it was… I've never been happier… I just shouldn't have been so stupid to have wrote everything down!" She grabbed her coat again, and threw it over her wrist to prevent sand getting into her wound. "Damn amnesia! You've made me so scared that I'll forget everything again...”

Her sudden yelling and crying were enough to make her head hurt, and in turn led to a familiar event playing through her head seeming as she had suddenly slumped down unconscious into the sand as she re-witnessed the nightmare. That happened every time that she had gone through it. And of course it was her nightmare from just before Chrom, Lissa and Frederick had found her in the field…

No wonder she was unconscious when she was found initially in Ylisse.

The same part of the nightmare always got to her every time. Her vision turning bloodshot… Head throbbing… Electricity crackling through her body as she grasped her tome… And Chrom telling her that it wasn't her fault and to escape as he collapsed to the ground, in the cold grasp of death.

/ / / / /

At the same time as Robin collapsing, Frederick was desperately trying to find both Robin and Gaius. Robin to try and comfort her, Gaius to lecture him about invading people's privacy (though at times, Frederick was one to speak when it came to Chrom and Lissa) and telling others about other people's private lives.

Frederick was just so worried about Robin, with the way in which she burst into tears when Gaius had told everyone about what had happened between the two of them that night; and also with the way in which she had ran off yelling at everyone to leave her alone. He couldn't – he _wouldn't_ leave her alone, not in this state. Over the past few weeks, he had seen just how unstable Robin was mentally due to her injuries and over what had happened to Emmeryn, so he needed to find a way in which to locate her, and keep her calm…

He would feel as though he would have failed as a knight for her yet again if he were unable to do that…

"Hey, uh… You're looking for her, ain'tcha?…" That voice instantly made Frederick's insides churn with anger.

Almost instantly, he turned around and grabbed hold of the Gaius' shirt. The glare which he gave him was worse than the look anyone ever got if they neglected to attend training. "What business do you have, talking to me after what you did to Robin, thief?! If anything has happened to her, you will be held fully accountable-!"

With his arms quickly flying up into the air, Gaius gulped. "I know, I know! Geez, nanny… I get that I shouldn't have done that! I just wanted to help you find her so I could apologise! And to give her book back to her!" Gaius was in a panic with the way in which Frederick had grabbed hold of him and was burning holes into his skull with just how _harsh_ his glare was. One thing was definite for him – he was doomed when they would eventually manage to find Robin, and Frederick would most definitely be the source of this doom, Robin possibly also having a thing to do with it.

The knight was unsure as to whether he would be able to trust the thief after what he had done to Robin. _His_ Robin. "If you insist on helping me to find her, then fine. But afterwards, do not even dare try slipping away, or else _I will_ hunt you down for what you did." And he was sticking to his word. He genuinely would hunt Gaius if he tried running away.

The threat was enough for Gaius to gulp once more, and nod that he would help find her. He did not want to get hurt in any way.

And then, things worked out much to Frederick's convenience. Chrom, Lissa and Sumia had caught up to them in their own search for them both, and better yet, they had an idea as to where Robin could be.

After a few minutes of explaining what their leads were, Frederick was relieved that there was signs of Robin still being nearby. "I did hear shouting about 'damn amnesia' somewhere to the north, not too far from here, and Robin happens the only amnesiac we know," Sumia explained, before stroking her pegasus gently on the head. "It was near some trees, and a rather small lake..."

Gaius suddenly snapped to attention hearing that. "I remember seeing Sunshine over there before, and doesn't Sunshine try to… Stalk Bubbles? So yeah, Stumbles is probably right."

"Now, repeat what you just said _without_ the stupid nicknames?" Frederick was simply not in the mood for Gaius to be using these nicknames, despite the fact that it was easy to catch on as to who he was talking about. After all, he had seen Tharja following Robin around quite a bit as of late…

"Frederick, calm down! He's only trying to help-!" Lissa exclaimed, quickly getting cut off by the knight in his frustration of wanting to find Robin.

"I do not appreciate his help. He has helped _enough._ "

"Frederick, maybe you should take a break from looking for Robin…"

“Or perhaps certain _people_ should not reveal details which may be deemed as personal to everyone, in turn leading to us having to look for Robin!” The knight seemed almost hysterical by that point. “I am going to look for her – _alone.”_

/ / / / /

"Wake up, Robin..."

The sudden voice in such a hushed tone was enough to wake the tactician up out of nothing but fear. It was a new voice, yet held some familiarity. "Ugh...Wha-?… Oh gods, Tharja?!" Seeing the dark mage almost right up in her face made Robin shriek, before she began grumbling to herself.

"As much as I loved watching you sleep… You're being looked for..."

Robin was too scared to respond. Having Tharja in such a close vicinity to her was rather creepy. No, **very** creepy. Nobody – barring Frederick in the night just gone – had _ever_ done something such as that before. And gods, did she not want it to happen again if it weren't him. "C- Can you… Leave me a- alone?…

"As you wish… But you will not be able to keep me away from you for long, Robin..." And so, the dark mage left, leaving Robin in the sand with a terrified look on her face. She believed that the others may not trust her… But Tharja seemed to trust her too much. A little _too much._

Slowly, the tactician lowered her head back into the sand, remembering that her coat was draped over her arm to protect her injury as she felt the material against her skin. And then, she began to shiver.

_Shivering…_ _In Plegia?… What is going on? It's not night-!_

Robin was mid-thought when she realised that someone new had approached her, and was stood over her. "In jest of milord… There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know?..."

There was nothing but a sigh from the woman then, before she closed her eyes. "Yeah… It doesn't sound right when you say that, Frederick… Anyway, why are you here? I'm surprised that you aren't… I don't know, killing Gaius. Or avoiding me." That was all that she could mumble, before crying.

Seeing the woman crying made the knight sit on the ground beside her, and wipe her tears away. "I… I have chose to avoid the others, over avoiding you. I was with some of them until a few minutes ago, but with Gaius there, I can not control my temper…" Following that, he pulled her up so that she was sat leaning against him. “Robin…”

Robin made a small 'hmph' sound, before she closed her eyes with a sigh. "That actually surprises me… I would have thought that-"

"That I did not love you? You are dearly mistaken if you believe that is the case..." The tone of Frederick's voice just did not sound right to her… Was he lying? Was there something else on his mind? "And, I can tell exactly what you are thinking… I am not telling a lie. I love you, and no matter what that buffoon of a thief dares say about what what we have done to every living soul, I could not love you any less."

That was… sweet. She hadn't been expecting Frederick to say something like that… "Even though… He let it slip to everyone that we… Um..." She was still finding it hard to get over what had happened that morning anyway, but knowing that the whole camp – no, the whole army – knew that she and Frederick were in a romantic relationship already with some sexual activity in it… She wasn't sure about whether she could ever get over that.

The silence from Frederick put her on edge. She still had her eyes closed too, so she couldn't try and use her lessons from Stahl about reading people's facial expressions to see what he was feeling, or even thinking.

Suddenly getting picked up was enough to remove her fears though. "Let them know if they must. I know where my duties lie, and getting bothered about that is not one of them. They lie simply in serving Ylisse… And you, my dearest."

_Serving her?…_ "Do you have any context for that, Frederick?"

"Hmm? I am not sure as to what you-"

"You said that your duty is to serve Ylisse, which can only have one definition… But you also mentioned serving me. How, exactly? As a knight… Or as my loving companion?"

"Milady, surely we must be returning now-"

Robin cut him off mid-sentence again. "Stop avoiding the question, Frederick…" She then, once she had finished speaking, opened her eyes again, a pleading look in her eyes. "I won't smile for you again if you try to avoid it..."

She could feel him struggle for words then, and she laughed lightly. It was adorable to see him try to come up with an answer which could satisfy her.

It took him about a minute to finally come up with a response. It was only one word, but it was more than enough to bring the withdrawn smile back to her face. "Both."

/ / / / /

"I am so annoyed! Frederick just had to escape like that, didn't he?! We don't even know where he went! All that we know is that he went looking for Robin!” Lissa yelled, getting frustrated that she was having to search high and low for the knight, when normally, it would have been the knight searching for whoever had happened to be absent.

Chrom couldn't help but laugh at Lissa stressing over the situation, before looking up at the sky. "As much as I would love to have you searching for even longer whilst we rest, Lissa… It's getting late. The sun is setting… And… No matter what, we need to go back to Ylisse tomorrow..." The prince then closed his eyes, before hearing footsteps nearby too. That had to be Gaius trying to sneak away. "And do not dare think about leaving just yet, Gaius. Until Robin and Frederick return to us, I'm confiscating all of your candy."

The look on Gaius' face was priceless.

"Hey! That's no fair, Blue! All I did was say that Bubbles and him had ended up doing some dirty deeds together this morning! And come on, they shouldn't even have been having sex whilst at war, considering that he's your general and she's your tactician, Blue!"

Everyone raised an eyebrow then. " _All_ that you did? I saw you this morning, stealing Robin's book from her and blackmailing her into keeping quiet about something or else you would tell everyone what was in there! She was left looking as though she had seen a ghost! And then, you go and tell the whole camp anyway, despite her not saying a word about you! I _was_ with her the whole day and I _know_ that she didn't mention anything about you, so don't you even dare say that she did either..." Chrom shouted, obviously getting frustrated at not knowing the whereabouts of his two friends.

Everything was silent as they then returned to where the Shepherds had set up camp for the night, and the tension between Gaius and Chrom stayed high. The candy thief was rather annoyed with himself too, as he seemed to be making more enemies than friends at present.

"Ah, finally! You all have returned…" Maribelle was quick to approach the group upon their return, and her face seemed almost enlightened in joy. "You will be glad to know that just a few minutes ago, Frederick managed to return to camp, thankfully with a sleeping Robin in his arms." That shocked everyone. They would have thought that Frederick would have just stayed with Robin, wherever she was, rather than return to camp with her. But either way, it was a relief all the same. "However… There was one thing which concerned me about their return..."

Sumia then finally broke her silence by questioning why, and Maribelle's response was a lot different to what they had been expecting.

Slowly, she tapped her foot as she spoke. "Robin, I daresay, was wearing naught but her coat around her body… I believe that the two of them may have been up to something… Well, do you understand what I have been suggesting? Considering the state in which their relationship happens to be in at the moment...”

A small nod was given from everyone then, before they all decided to retire for the night. The had a long day ahead of them.

At the same time, Robin, who had in fact been feigning sleep upon return to the camp in order to avoid questions, was stood near the entrance to the tent which she and Frederick were in. "Maribelle has more of a keen eye than I thought..." she whispered, slowly retreating from the opening and slowly finding herself caught in Frederick's embrace. "Though, I don't think that she realises how uncomfortable it is to get sand inside your clothes… My entire body was so itchy!"

Frederick laughed at her disgruntled mumbling, before his head moved to rest upon her shoulder as he let her hair loose. "May I suggest keeping your coat on next time then? It would have prevented a lot more sand-"

Robin slowly moved her finger to rest upon his lips to silence him, before she slowly pulled her finger down and looked at the face of confusion which he was bearing. Frederick was sure of one thing though – Robin definitely had something in her mind, and she was planning to do something.

Her next action was sudden to him though. She wrapped one of her arms around his neck, and used the hand which had been covering his lips to gently take hold of his chin and pull his face towards hers for a kiss.

Frederick was unsure of how to react completely, and Robin laughed as she slightly pulled away from him. "You are clueless with romance, aren't you?… It's adorable, you know… And only I can see this adorable side of you..." Feeling her lips move against his as she spoke helped some of his confusion subside, as he knew that she was right.

"I may not be as well versed with romance as I am, say, at maintaining weaponry, but at least I know that you wish not for that to change… Anything to make you happy, milady…" Now it was Frederick's turn to confuse Robin. He was the one who resumed the kiss, not the currently more dominant tactician. The muffled sounds of approval from the woman was enough to tell Frederick that he was definitely doing something right.

"I love you, Freddy Bear..." Robin mumbled as soon as they had separated, before she laughed at the state which Frederick had been left in.

Deciding to shrug off her use of the nickname which he despised with a passion due to how sweet her smile was, Frederick then took hold of her hands, and smiled back. "And I love you too, milady. Now, may I allow myself to be selfish for a moment?"

"Why are you calling me 'milady', Frederick? And don't worry, I don't mind when you act a little self-!" It then took a matter of seconds at Robin's incomplete response for the knight to pull his arms around her waist, and place a small kiss upon her neck. He then used the kiss as a distraction to sit down on the bed which was present in the tent, making sure that the woman who was to be his wife was upon his lap.

"I wish to see you once more… As with this morning." _Talk about putting it bluntly._

"O- Oh… So soon after-" Robin went a flustered shade of red then, before she went and ruffled her hands through his hair, Surprisingly, it was a handsome look for him, having his hair tousled like that. "Well, so do I…" Then a smirk formed on her face. A smirk which Frederick could easily read.

"And how lucky are we, you've saved me the effort of removing your clothes, and we've got all night...” Almost the second that he had finished speaking, he had pulled her face closer to his and pulled her in for a gentle kiss. “You are the most wonderful thing which has ever happened to me, Robin… I do not know what could be any better...”

“Perhaps us having a family together?...”

Following a deep chuckle, Frederick shook his head and kissed her once more. “Not yet...” His reaction was just… _adorable_ to her. Adorable enough to make her push him down into the sheets and to tangle her hands into his hair as their kisses became much messier. How she loved the fact that he was acting more submissive than that morning… It made her want to pull off his clothes and get right to it, but seeming as he had pointed out that they had all night… Perhaps waiting things out would be better.

Being caught up in thinking meant that those few moments were a bit of a blur to her, and feeling her back against the sheets and a cold pair of hands resting on her stomach was what brought her back into reality. His thumbs were tracing small circles on her delicate, scarred flesh, something which he had figured out previously was a very particular weakness of hers. She was almost like putty in his hands, and he could tell. “You like that… don't you?” Hushed whispers like that were another of her weaknesses. The most that she could do in response was nod her head slightly as she mumbled, in turn making him whisper once more. “I am glad that even through something as simple as this I can make you feel satisfied, Robin…”

Despite what he had just said to her, his hands quickly moved away from her stomach. “H- Hey!” The tactician didn't take that too well, as she hated being left in suspense. “You're such a-!” Once more, Frederick had gone and kissed Robin, but this turn it was upon her neck. His tongue was brushing across her skin, and it was inducing a deep red blush upon her face. _If it left a mark, anyone in camp could see it! Then what would happen?! Gods, this man is so embarrassing!_

It made her want to retaliate with her own teasing… And she had the perfect idea on as to how. He had a tie on his shirt, and he had wrists… If she managed to stop him from being able to tease her in such a way, he was open to teasing himself… It made her want to giggle, just imagining how flustered she was capable of making him…

Frederick pulled away from her neck for a moment, before smirking. “What are you planning, Robin? You seem to have your 'thinking about tactics' face on...” It was a _slight bit_ annoying that he was able to tell when she was scheming something, but she knew that she would be able to pull off this plan. Because of that, she shook her head and rested her hands upon his chest.

“I am not planning something… Being with you makes my mind go all over the place, do you honestly expect me to be able to come up with a plan?...” Her hands slowly moved to the tie, and carefully pulled it loose. He was too busy focussing upon her face to see if she were lying, so he wasn't fully aware of what she was doing. “I love you, Fred...” The knight smiled as she then took hold of his hands and eased them both up into a sitting position as she kissed him once more. He went to go and move his hands to her chest after that, but that was a short-lived action.

Robin was at his ear after that, balancing her chin upon his shoulder. “And that… Is why you _don't_ tease a tactician who really likes to have her skin stroked… You seem to be in quite the predicament, don't you?” He couldn't respond to that, his mouth was just a slight bit agape in surprise. Not even for _a moment_ had he felt her restrain his wrists, let alone remove his tie – he had assumed that she was just messing about with the collar of his shirt!

The tactician was finally able to giggle at the lack of any response other than a quiet grumble, and that made her want to see in just what ways that she could tease him. The first thing that she did was carefully begin to unbutton and loosen his shirt. She couldn't _properly_ remove it, considering that she would have to free his wrists in order to do that, but she could suffice with just unbuttoning it.

“R- Robin, I never expected you to attempt something as conniving as this...” His face was just as red as hers was when he had kissed her neck, and that made her smile at her future husband, which made him do something rather out of character… Seeing him look away rather bashfully _was_ cute. However, she wanted his reaction, so she went and cupped his cheeks and turned him back to facing her.

“So… You're fine with having a woman wearing no clothes in your vicinity for quite a while, but as soon as it comes to me smiling…” Robin then went and placed her hands upon his chest and laughed quietly. “You're so loveable, Frederick… I am more than glad that I am able to see this side of you. More than _anything_...” Despite his hands being restrained, he was still able to lean forward and kiss her in response to that.

After a few moments, the woman began to lightly stroke his abdomen and make a few quiet sounds against his mouth which sent his pulse crazy. “And I wonder… Just how many years of training have you been through to get such a fine body, Freddy-bear?...” By that point, he just about had her figured out… _She wasn't going to stop with this teasing until she felt as though he had compensated for not continuing to do what she liked him doing! And gods, if she had the endurance which she had when coming up with tactics… This was going to be a long night for him._

Gently, Robin was then able to situate herself upon his lap, and the movements of her fingers across his skin was delicate to the point that it felt like tickling. Gods, did he want to just push her down into the covers and take her there and then, the teasing was that much for him.

_Forget_ _**her** _ _endurance, what had happened to his?!_

Robin was able to pick up how he felt and what his thoughts probably were through two things – the heat his body was giving off, and by what she could feel by the top of her legs.

A few moments of thought were taken by the tactician, before she made up her mind. She would tease him for a few more minutes, then perhaps she would allow him loose from his tie… Or maybe she would give him the choice. “Would you like me to ease your burden of trousers, Frederick… Or would you like to have your wrists freed? You can't have both, only one...”

His response was unexpected. _Very_ unexpected. “I am actually rather… Enjoying what you happen to be doing right now… I would not mind if you kept me tied up… for a few more minutes, anyway.” His thoughts were a slight bit different though. ' _Why did you just say such a thing to her?! She is the sort of person who would keep you restrained for as long as she wishes!'_

“Or… Maybe you wish to...” She took hold of his bound hands with one of her own, and leaned in close to his ear. “Well… release yourself from this tension which we've been building up...” Her other hand rested upon a bulge in his trousers, and the sound which he made in reaction to that…

“ _Please...”_ In response to that, Robin then went and loosened his hands a slight bit, and almost straight away Frederick had managed to grab her shoulders and had pushed her down onto the sheets as she squealed. “Ah… You have no idea on as to how much your teasing has made me want to do this...”

Aware on as to what was going to come next, Robin then began to laugh some more as she saw his shirt, and in turn the rest of his clothes, be discarded and tossed across the tent, before she felt him pull her legs to around his waist. Then she remembered what he had whispered to her that morning. “Before you say it… Your body is ready?” Robin was given his trademark stern glare after that, but it was very quick to soften as she felt him adjust himself a slight bit, ready to enter her.

“And as you say on the battlefield...” He trailed off as soon as he had heard the sweet sounds which she made as he pulled her hips upwards to meet his moments later. “Checkmate.”

/ / / / /

Come the morning, Robin got an abrupt awakening by Lissa. It was practically becoming routine for that to happen by that point.

She wasn't wearing anything still, and was also wrapped up in blankets so that she could have been protected from the cold at night. Lissa was stood over her, trying to nudge her awake. "Rooooobiiiiiiinnnn, come oooooooon….."

Robin couldn't feel anyone else beside her, so presumably, Frederick had already woke up and got about to his duties before everyone made the move back to Ylisse later that day. It was such a shame though, she loved the position that they had ended up in as they embraced after having sex… His arms wrapped around her, his face buried into her hair as she nestled her head into his chest and hugged him back...

And gods, was she exhausted… Well, her legs were at least. She didn't want to move at all, even through Lissa's hassling. "Robin, you need to wake up!"

"Go away…" A pillow was tossed at the princess, before Robin grumbled once more.

"No! Chrom needs you!" _Great. Another reminder of Frederick, as 'Chrom needs you' was one of the lines from his silly motivation poster a few months back.._

Robin frustratedly then pulled the blankets around her to conceal the fact that she was naked, before sitting up. "Get him to come here then… I'm too tired. And not in the mood to see most people-"

Lissa grabbed hold of her shoulders, before shaking her a slight bit. _That was annoying._ "Are you still not over the whole 'everyone doesn't trust me' thing? Geez, we _do_ trust you!"

“No. It's not that.” The tactician yawned, and her messy white hair fell to in front of her face. "Chrom comes here, or I go back to sleep."

And then, Lissa frowned. She had noticed something which would not work exactly well in Robin's favour if Lissa managed to pursue it. "What's that on your neck? It looks like a bruise-"

_She had forgot about him kissing her on the neck._

The tactician lay back down, burying her face into her coat which she had decided right there and then to use as a temporary pillow. "I guess that Chrom needing to see me isn't so important then." And with that, Robin closed her eyes with the intention of making it seem as though she were falling asleep once more.

"Mark my words, Robin… I am going to find out what that bruise is!"

"Yeah, yeah, you just think that then..."

Upon Lissa walking out, Robin was finally able to sit up, and recover her clothes. That was the only reason why she wanted Chrom to come to her, rather than her to go to Chrom. She wanted the chance to get dressed without anyone realising that similar events had transpired that night to the day before. And then, to make matters worse, if it had been _Lissa_ who had realised without being previously aware of the relationship, things would have become much worse than Gaius telling the whole camp about yesterday.

Grumbling as she pulled on her shirt, followed by her coat, she couldn't help but feel frustration towards her allies at that time. She would probably not be in the mood until that afternoon to start talking to and socialising with everyone else, but if she had to talk to Chrom, so be it

Once she was dressed, she sighed and fell back onto the bed with a deep sigh. Not long after that, she could hear a voice calling out to her. "Robin? Are you in there?" Chrom's voice was hardly much of a comfort after Lissa's awakening, but either way, it was good to hear a friend.

"Yes, I am…"

"Can I come in and talk to you then?"

"Yeah, if you want to… Though I am rather tired..." Robin pulled herself up so that she was sitting, and watched at her messy hair kept clinging to her face and the back of her neck. It was rather hot that day, after all.

As soon as the prince walked in, he laughed. "Gods, you look a sight for sore eyes!"

He received a glare from Robin. "Gee, thanks for the compliment… What did you want to see me about anyway?" She had hoped that this conversation would be over with quickly, but with Chrom's face quickly settling to something more serious, she knew that this wouldn't be the case.

Chrom watched as Robin then threw off her coat behind her, so that she could cool down. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable sitting in here. "I'll talk with you if you leave the tent. You are evidently too hot staying inside this tent… Beside, isn't this Frederick's-" Before pursuing that question any more, the prince quickly shook his head. “Of course you'd be in here… I had almost forgot that you're the first couple in the Shepherds… Anyway, please come outside with me, Robin.”

"Fine, fine… But I'm only standing outside, you know that I'm tired..." Reluctantly, Robin stood up, and was then pushed outside by Chrom. "Right, I'm out. What is it?"

Chrom laughed at Robin's struggle to try and get the conversation over and done with, before he explained what he was thinking. "The war is over now… Well, you know that anyway, and we have to return to Ylisse… You've just been moving about with us, but because of your amnesia, you don't know if you lived anywhere, do you?"

"Yes… What are you getting at?"

"Well, seeming as everyone knows now that you and Frederick are engaged… I just thought that maybe, seeming as Frederick does live at the castle alongside me and Lissa… You would want to stay with him there? It could give you somewhere more… permanent to stay, I guess."

Robin raised her eyebrow then, before she smiled. "So, I guess that you can act gentlemanly at times then! Or is this a joke?"

"Gods no! It isn't a joke! I even asked Frederick if he minded if I invited you to stay with him, and he didn't mind!"

The prince was met with a smile then, and also a nod. "Just as long as Lissa doesn't bother me too much, okay?"

For another twenty minutes, the conversation continued with varying topics, from how long they thought it would take to restore Ylisse to its former glory, and as to whether Chrom should sort out a memorial for Emmeryn, and then… There were the more trivial subjects of conversation.

And what was the final thing which Chrom decided to say before walking away?

"By the way… The others have taken it into their own hands to sort out yours and Frederick's wedding. Have fun trying to talk them out of it… Frederick has been trying all morning."

"Wh- What?!"

/ / / / /

The look on Robin's face was one which nobody could hold back their laughter at, not even Frederick. Her eyes wide open, one of which twitching, and her mouth agape in shock. As well as that, her arms were shaking as she continued to stare into space. "Lissa… _You are so dead!"_

The sudden change in atmosphere was enough to wipe the grins off everyone's faces.

You see, Lissa had decided, much to Robin's frustration, to continue pranking her as she had done pre-war with Plegia. She hadn't just carried out a small prank, such as having a toad in her hand to creep Robin out, this time. No… She had gone all out with her prank.

And how?

She had decided to spike Robin's food, a simple soup, with the spiciest chillies which she could find. To make matters worse, she had done the exact same with Robin's drink of tea, which other than the chilli, was perfectly attuned to Robin's tastes.

Chrom was trying to hold back a laugh at his best friend trying to catch his sister from the sidelines, whilst Frederick had now gone from quietly laughing to having a raised eyebrow. "We have been back in Ylisse for a week now… And already the princess has broken Robin..." Frederick sighed out loud, before deciding to intervene just in case Robin actually did start to kill.

Despite it being only a week, things had actually been very eventful, and many things in the future were organised.

The next week was set aside for the entire halidom to recover and rebuild, before a few days of rest… The first of which being set aside for a memorial for Emmeryn across not just the entirety of Ylisse, but also within Ferox, and even a few Plegian villages too. Almost the entire continent. After that, two days later, Chrom was to be officially declared the new Exalt of Ylisse, or at the very least, temporary ruler until everything was settled.

And then… Two weeks after that… Was when the wedding between Robin and Frederick had been organised for, despite the fact that neither of them knew. The couple had strictly told everyone in the Shepherds to allow them to organise their own wedding, but they continued to plan behind their back. Even Chrom was in on it now, despite being against the idea at first.

They had various different plans set out for if the two were to discover that they were still planning also. If it were Frederick who found out, they would quickly try to distract him with things such as fake injuries from 'tripping over rocks in the castle courtyard', or with tasks such as helping organise a few bookshelves. If it were Robin, they would try and talk her into letting them continue to plan by showing her the dress which they most definitely want her to wear, and tempting her with it. If it were both… They were just going to try and lure them away to an outrealm, likely the one which had been mentioned once or twice before with a beach (somehow), so that they could plan without the two of them trying to intervene, and also to allow the couple to wind down and relax beforehand, and also to… Give them some time alone.

Of course, it was Lissa who had come up with those plans. Nobody could come up with any better, so they were what had to be followed come the discovery of their planning – that is _if_ they were discovered.

"Let me get her, Frederick! She ruined my food!"

"You can get more!" Lissa sulked as she hid behind Chrom, who was beginning to get bored of the situation. "It's not as though we don't have food here!"

Frederick struggled for a moment, trying to keep the tactician held securely in his arms. "So what?! That was my food that I wanted to eat _then_! Not _later_!" _Persistence as usual._

Chrom sighed, before he grabbed hold of Lissa's wrist. "Frederick… Why don't you try and calm Robin down, whilst I _have a word_ with Lissa..." He didn't even wait for a reply, before pulling his sister outside the room despite her protests.

"Chrooooom! Please, let go of me!"

"Lissa… You do realise that you could make things so much worse for us by agitating Robin like that?" Lissa gave him a confused face, so he sighed, and had to explain what he meant to her, "If she is agitated with you… And then she discovers that we are planning her wedding despite her telling us not to… She will probably tear off a few heads – namely ours."

The princess bit her lip, and then sighed. "Yes, you're right… Sorry about that, big brother!" She followed that with a grin, before happily skipping away.

The prince awkwardly looked back at his sister, before he went to go and see if Robin had calmed down. As he opened the door slightly, he changed his mind though, as he could hear the conversation between Robin and Frederick.

"I know… I know… It's just that… At times, she's really nice and I love to spend time with her… But at other times… She's a bit… Obnoxious- Well, actually… More annoying than anything. Her pranks in particular… I pranked her back the first few times, but after a while it got a bit over the top and has stayed over the top..."

"She does mean it in jest, I am sure of it, Robin. Maybe you should just tell her that-!"

"I have done! And then she poured water down my back! Please, can't you tell her?..."

There was a small sigh from Frederick, and Chrom wasn't able to hear a response from him. He assumed that he had either nodded or shook his head, but he didn't stick around to see what Frederick was going to do.

He was going to leave those two to deal with that situation themselves.

/ / / / /

"… You guys have _got_ to be kidding me… Right?..." It was just over three weeks later – as a matter of fact, the day before the entirety of the Shepherds had organised the wedding of Robin and Frederick. "Please… Tell me this is a joke..."

Robin had just been confronted by the women of the Shepherds barring Miriel (who was in the middle of researching an undisclosed subject) and Panne (who claimed not to "participate within such mediocre traditions of the manspawn as of yet") and had been told that she was going to be getting married the next day.

"We're sorry… We've been keeping it a secret from you!" Sumia laughed awkwardly, much to Robin's frustration.

She shook her head, and held her hand on her forehead as she sighed. "I think that I get that already… But… Why? Why did you still plan this when both me and Frederick said not to?..."

Maribelle smiled at the tactician, before she nudged Robin with her parasol. "Why, darling, it is quite simple! For one, you and Sir Frederick are the first of all of the Shepherds to enter a committed relationship! And two, it is _Frederick!_ One would not expect him out of all of the men amongst our ranks to become betrothed! Now, we must prepare you for tomorrow!"

"N- No! I was going to meet Frederick this evening to go to the bookstore, and then to go and have a meal-!"

"Do not worry, I am assured that Chrom and his companions are trying to distract Frederick as we speak!" Cordelia smiled, before she and Sumia grabbed hold of Robin's arms. "Now… We need to show you the dress that we got for you!"

Robin attempted to resist, but suddenly, Tharja emerged behind her. "Come on… I just _have_ to see you in your dress..." Just the tone of the dark mage's voice was enough to terrify her into doing what they wanted her to do.

"Oh yeah! Weirdly enough, Gaius has a brilliant sense in dresses! He thought that he could make up for what he said the other week by helping to choose it! And it really is pretty – perfect for you, Robin!" Lissa smiled, before she decided to laugh at the sheer panic in Robin's face. "It isn't a prank, trust me on that! I was told to stop the pranks, so I have done! Anyway… Let's actually get to showing you!"

Elsewhere, Frederick was stuck in a relatively similar situation.

"No. I am set to escort Robin this evening to the town, as I did promise her that I would help her find some new books and to accompany her on a meal. I have no time for other business." Frederick gave his trademark stern glare to the men in front of him, before shaking his head. "Please, allow me to pass."

Chrom laughed, before shaking his head. "I just think that you may have to reorganise… Robin is rather busy at the moment."

The new exalt hadn't even _seen_ Robin that day, how in the name of the gods could he know if she were busy or not? That, and why was he not allowing him past, alongside Gaius, of all people, as well as a few others?

"Milord… I honestly can not believe that you could know whether she is busy or not. Now, I must be leaving-"

"Gods, you don't get it, do you? _We don't want you to see Robin today!"_ Chrom shouted in exasperation, before Vaike took over in explaining, due to Chrom becoming a bit frustrated.

Though, that was after he had a laugh at Chrom's face. "What ol' Chrom was trying to say is that we have to keep you away from Robin, whilst the women keep her away from you, because behind your back, we have been organising your wedding for tomorrow! You can see her _all that you want_ tomorrow, especially in the evening... alone... in your bedroom… wearing a dress which you would just want to tear off her right there and then-!"

"Explain why you assume that I would do such abhorrent things to Robin!" _Tearing a dress off a woman?! That was despicable!_ Frederick almost went and lost his temper completely then, before he could hear Stahl mumbling to himself at the side, about how 'he mustn't be bothered over us organising his wedding for him then', and that make him growl. "And I will be coming onto that next, Stahl… Why did you all completely disrespect our request, and continue with your planning?"

By that point, Chrom had managed to calm down, so he was able to provide a response, "Because knowing the two of you well enough, you would end up too busy to find a time to organise your wedding, plus, it's a big thing with you and Robin ending up as the first two Shepherds engaged to be married… As for the dress thing… That's on Vaike, not us."

"Hey!"

/ / / / /

That night, Robin was sat alone with a frown. She had been told that Frederick was being forced to sleep elsewhere that night, because according to Maribelle, "it is bad luck for a man to see his bride on the day of the wedding before the ceremony, especially once she is wearing her dress."

"Stupid traditions..." she mumbled, before lying back. She felt horribly cold, even once she had pulled the bedsheets over herself, all because of her isolation from her love. It had become a common occurrence over the past month since returning to Ylisse for her to cuddle up to Frederick at night, due to her needing reassurance for when she began to experience her nightmares – which were unfortunately becoming more common since the time where she had yelled about having amnesia in Plegia. "Can I not just stay with him for one more night?..."

What made things worse were that she had ended up being locked into the room too, after an attempt about an hour previously to slip out of the room to find her future husband. Well, rather than locked into the room… It's more like the door getting locked, and even though Robin had a key, Gaius had stuffed a sticky lollipop into the keyhole from the outside, so that only someone removing it from the outside would make it possible for the door to be unlocked.

It was impossible for her to get to sleep. Not like this.

Frustratedly, she stood up and walked over to a bookshelf which she had recently set up…

And then she noticed something out of place. A piece of paper had been slipped between two of the books.

Robin pulled it out and went to throw it into the bin after crumpling it up, but she suddenly noticed that there was writing on it. Familiar writing too… As a matter of fact, it was too familiar. It was her own handwriting.

"What?… Did someone rip this out of-! Gaius, he must have ripped it out… He still has that book… But why did he put this here?..."

Reluctantly, she then read what she had wrote a few weeks previously out loud to herself, but in a hushed way so that if anyone were outside, they couldn't hear her. " _Oh gods… Things seem to be happening so fast at the moment… One moment, I'm stuck with Frederick as a bodyguard whilst my wrist recovers, and now… We're engaged?..."_ She looked at her previously injured wrist then, and trailed her fingers across what was now a pale white scar – a big contrast in comparison to her pale enough skin tone, and that was saying something.

After that, she returned to reading. " _He's strong, dedicated, and damn, he is handsome. I have no qualms about saying this on paper, but out loud, I'm not as confident, because there is almost always someone there when I am with him… Well, except that time where we were trapped in that snowstorm..._ " She laughed at those memories then. Frederick's proposal was so… Well, clumsy in comparison to his normal self. She was so glad that they were alone at that time…

" _But I have seen him in an even better state… Last night, for that matter! Under the covers of my bed, my hands tangled into his hair as we kept sharing delicate little kisses… I'm surprised though, I was never expecting his body to be as muscular as it was! I mean, I knew he was definitely well off in terms of his muscles, but_ _wow_ _. No wonder he was able to keep me from working on my strategy for Chrom until just now! Not to mention that I never exactly thought of him as the sort of person who would make his mind up so quickly about sleeping with a woman, not just sharing a bed together… Ah, I can't wait to be able to settle down with him when the war is over!_ "

She laughed at her past self then, her face a flushed pink shade. "I bet that the others used this to make up their minds about sorting out our wedding… W- Wait, if they did, that would mean that they- They-!" Her face went a deep crimson shade then. "They know all the details about that night now… Not just that we slept together… Ah! Gods!"

To quickly distract herself, she then grabbed hold of a random book from the shelf, before scrunching up the paper and tossing it into a bin. Unfortunately… The book was one of the romance novels which Sumia had previously given her.

Despite that, she _still_ read it.

Her imagination was a wild place at that time though, so what happened when she got to the steamier parts of the novel, between the two main characters? She found herself replacing her images of them with her and Frederick. Not good for her trying to forget that he wasn't with her.

After some time, she then began to cry due to her loneliness, and in turn, it developed into exhaustion. She essentially cried herself to sleep.

The tactician's awakening was abrupt though, with someone diving onto her. _Again._ "Come on, sleepy head! We've been trying to wake you up for _ages_! You're getting married in _an hour!"_

/ / / / /

"Frederick, you just need to relax, okay? There's still a few minutes to go before the women bring Robin here..." Chrom stated, noticing that Frederick was starting to mess with his fingers. He assumed that his fidgeting was to do with the fact that normally, he would be holding Robin's hand no matter what he was doing unless he was required to use both of his hands.

"I know, milord… It is just that I have not been forced to stay away from her for so long since we became engaged, except for the day which we fought Gangrel..."

The memories of that day were still bitterly present in Frederick's mind, despite him wanting to just get rid of them completely. Well, except for the memories that night. He would treasure the memories of that night dearly. The exhaustion which both he and Robin suffered the day after through lack of sleep was worth what had happened that night.

"Don't worry, okay? I have made everyone promise to back out of your personal lives for now, until you both settle down into married life. We won't keep you separate again- Oh, Sully is calling for me… I will be back in a minute."

Frederick gave Chrom a confused look as he suddenly ran over to the cavalier, who had suddenly emerged in the room. He could hear the conversation, even though they were trying to be as quiet as possible.

"She's kinda in a panic at the moment… We're managing to get her here, but it's taking time. Pretty crap, I know, but at least she hasn't ran away, right?"

"Gods… How long do you think that it will take to get Robin here then? Because Frederick isn't being himself and is getting very restless..."

"Um… Oh, wait, here she is! It's about time, Robin!"

Just hearing that made Frederick all the more anxious. After all, the wedding had been suddenly sprung upon them, and he also had no idea on how Robin had coped ever since she had found out herself, not to mention… He wasn't so keen to have so much attention diverted to the two of them.

And then she walked in.

And gods, she looked like an angel to him.

Her dress was all flowy and white, with a pale purple tint at the bottom of the skirt and at the top of the dress, just above her chest. What blew him away even more… Was that the dress perfectly framed her figure, which would normally be covered in the various layers of her typical attire, especially her coat. And on top of that, she was red in the face, so she was obviously embarrassed at the entire situation.

One final thing which was notably different to her appearance was that her white hair, normally just scruffily threw back, had been neatly brushed through and tied into a delicate bun behind her head, and was adorned by little purple flowers.

Frederick could feel the heat in his face then. This was happening… And this spectacle of beauty before him was to be his wife.

/ / / / /

Robin smiled gently as she quickly hugged Frederick, and shared yet another kiss with him. That was about the tenth time which she had done that in about the three hours which they had been married, but it wasn't as though anyone was bothered – the day was about them after all. Frederick could taste a slight hint of alcohol in her mouth, which reminded him of some sort of vintage red wine which he had tasted a few months back, but he was able to ignore that.

The entire ceremony, despite the secret planning and abrupt announcement of it, had gone off without a hitch.

By far, everyone had decided that the best part of it was the kiss at the end. The sheer passion which the two felt for each other could be picked up by everyone else, and they knew that what they had done for them had been the best thing that they could have done.

At one point in the night, a few more kisses later, the two were separated for a moment. "Sooooooo… When are the kids coming~?" Lissa jokily questioned once Robin had finally realised that she had to separate from her new husband for a few moments, and she couldn't help but glare at the princess.

"Do you seriously think that we would have children yet, Lissa? _Honestly!"_

"Well… I wouldn't be surprised if you were pregnant now, with how often you two sleep with each other!"

Robin sighed out, before flicking the princess in the forehead. "Trust me, I couldn't be… And how many times _do_ you think that we've slept together, as much I as I love to?! Four times! Twice in Plegia! Plus, how exactly _would_ you know that- Ah, forget it… But I'm not pregnant, Lissa! Gods!" The child-like tantrum threw by Robin after that made a few people stop and stare. Was marriage getting to her already, or was she… Drunk?

Chrom raised an eyebrow at Robin's sulking, before he decided to talk to Frederick. "Have you heard those two?..."

"Yes, unfortunately…” The knight then noticed Chrom go to say something else, and he was quick to intercept. “And before you say a word, milord, no, Robin is not bearing a child… Lissa is just hoping for there to be a child in the castle so that she is no longer the youngest living here...”

The exalt was shocked at how the knight was able to read his thoughts exactly, but he shrugged it off. "Anyway… Why aren't you with Robin?"

Frederick sighed, and rubbed the back of his head. "The princess keeps pulling her away from me at present-"he stopped mid-sentence as Chrom walked over to the two women, before watching as he grabbed Lissa's wrist with one hand, and nudged Robin towards Frederick with the other. The knight thankfully nodded to Chrom, who then pulled Lissa away… but after winking back to him. He knew exactly what Chrom was insinuating, and it made him turn a bit red in the face.

"Finally we can't be separated from each other..." Robin smiled, her hazel eyes shining in the ambiance created by the candle-lit room. It was starting to get late now, so the candles were a nice touch for such a romantic occasion, at least in his opinion. "Hey, smile, why don't you? Rather than give me that flustered face!" She laughed rather loudly, which was making Frederick think that she was pleased that she was with him, before there was a loud cough for attention nearby.

It was obviously Maribelle with something planned. "Now… I believe that it is appropriate, now that our beloved Sir Frederick and Lady Robin are neither separated nor distracted, to play some music to dance to. Of course, that is unless the couple decline?"

Robin was a bit puzzled then. Dance? She hadn't danced before… At least, from what she could remember… The mix of a _few_ drinks of wine from earlier and amnesia didn't exactly go hand in hand… No, they _didn't_ go hand in hand whatsoever.

Frederick could see the confusion in her face, and smiled at her gently as he took hold of her hand. "Here, allow me, milady… I would not wish to see you fall over today, not whilst you are in such a magnificent dress..."

She couldn't help but notice the delicacy of every single action as of the moment which he held onto her hand, before his other hand moved over to her waist. The music which Maribelle had requested was slow and peaceful too, even more fitting to the atmosphere created by the lighting.

Everyone couldn't help but look in awe at the couple. Though they initially held much dislike for one another, to see the love between them was something of beauty. The way in which Frederick was handling Robin as they danced, and the way in which Robin seemed more composed than her mental state had allowed her over the past few weeks was a marvel too. They didn't know that alcohol played a part in that.

Once the music had died down, and their dance had drawn to a close with a gentle kiss which Frederick planted upon her hand, Robin began to smile as her eyes welled up in tears. "I love you, Freddy Bear~ Thank you for everything..." was what she then whispered, before nestling her head into him as she felt him pick her up off the floor.

"No… It should be me thanking you… You've changed both me and my life completely… And I couldn't have things any better than they are now."

"Just think… We wouldn't be together if I hadn't told you to smile, would we?" She then laughed, kicking her legs out a bit, before kissing his cheek. Frederick passed off her strange actions as she spoke as restlessness. He didn't really want to think of her as 'drunk', which is a word that he could quietly hear be passed around the room.

"Speaking of being together… We need to make up for that time which we were kept apart over the past few days..."

"Then how about we slip away then, and find somewhere quiet? Nobody would suspect a thing – after all… Look, almost all of them are either drunk now, or asleep! Hah, just look at that silly sleepy face of Chrom's!" Robin found it funny looking at a small group of people then, thinking that they were the only people there, before sighing. "We've got all the time in the world to be alone now~ Our room, maybe?"

"If that is what you wish… But you've got to sleep first, okay? You're starting to look tired too, Robin..."

"Fine then… I'll sleep… But only on the condition that you abandon your duties for the next few days… Hmm… In jest of a certain person obsessed with candy… Robin needs her sugar~"

As much as he wanted to deny it..."R- Robin! Gods, you're drunk!" With a sigh, Frederick pulled her closer to him as she threw her arms around his neck. "Come on… Let's go and get you some rest..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... This is chapters 7 and 8 of the version I have posted on fanfiction, just updated and revised a slight bit...  
> It takes place over a lot of time this chapter, about a year, so... Yeah.

"Come on, Gaius! You can do better than that if you want those caramel cupcakes!" Robin laughed, quickly jumping back as the thief swung his sword towards her. Over the past year, Robin and Gaius were quick to make up as friends, aware that their abrasive attitudes to one another in the past were most definitely to do with the fact that Robin was close to breaking down through stress at the time, and Gaius was frustrated over two things: his candy getting all sticky and melting; and all the fighting which was being done at the time.

The ginger groaned, before tugging at the lollipop stick in his mouth as he gave her an attempt at a menacing look. "Damn, Bubbles! That husband of yours is rubbing off on you! You're getting tougher and stricter each time that we train!"

"But Frederick doesn't give you candy afterwards, does he?"

With a triumphant smirk, Robin then swung her sword towards Gaius, and ended up swiping at the cloak which he had on. The material tore easily, and the thief looked at it in shock. "Bubbles, seriously?!"

"A tear is a small cost if you want to be in a good enough condition to ask Lissa out on a date, over being a chubby little thing..."

Gaius' face after that made Robin burst out laughing then, and he just went and sighed before leaning against a wall. He was glad that he and Robin weren't almost like enemies any more, and her infectious laughing was probably one of the benefits of that. Of course, he would have to be careful of saying such things around Frederick... After a few more moments, he began to laugh at himself too, and then looked across the courtyard where they had been training. "Hey, look there, Bubbles. Looks like your husband is waiting for you."

Frederick, however?… The two still weren't exactly on as firm ground. They did exchange small glares if they passed each other in a hallway, and as well as that, they did sometimes have slightly bitter conversations until Robin came along to interrupt them every single time.

The tactician looked up, and then smiled at Frederick from where she was stood, before she reached into her coat and threw a small key over to Gaius. "Should be easy enough to figure out where the cupcakes are, right?"

The thief smirked, before casually waving his hand as he walked away, ready to go cupcake hunting. Well, if it were counted as hunting. Robin always locked candy which she had for him in the same place every time, a drawer in the library within the castle. It had one of the few locks which he couldn't pick, so he always had to get the key from her to obtain the sugary goods'.

Once Gaius was out of earshot, Frederick walked over to Robin with a small frown."You keep going to train with him… Why?" He paused for a moment, hoping that she would respond, but the raised eyebrow which he received was enough to deter him from questioning any further. She was definitely aware of how he still wasn't exactly as keen on the thief as her, so she knew not to pursue such conversations.

"Well, may I ask you as to why you have been mysteriously disappearing for a few days now, Freddy Bear? Oh, and I've been noticing that you've been more… relaxed in your duties, leaving your armour behind and such… What about that?"

Robin asking that shocked Frederick, but he knew that maybe… Maybe he should explain why. It was definitely true though. Everyone had noticed that Frederick was just vanishing, even Kellam, the master of vanishing when in plain sight. They had even held a worried meeting to try and see what on earth was up with the knight. On top of that, yes, he had also been much more laid back in his duties. Less effort was put into them then usual, and it was strange for Robin to see that Frederick, one for safety and preparation for the worst happening at any time, was doing things such as carelessly misplacing weapons, and forgetting his armour.

He didn't know how to explain it to her that well though, and Robin bit her lip in worry. "Frederick… Please, don't keep quiet like that! You aren't… Disliking our company, are you? Or… Or..." She looked panicked then, various different worst case scenarios playing through in her head. "Just say something, damn it!"

"I've… Been trying to do something for you… We _have_ been married for a year after all..." was all that he could respond with, before hugging her tightly.

"Huh?… What do you mean by that?..." She made him loosen his grasp of her, and she rested her hands on his chest as she looked up at him in confusion. "I don't get what you mean… You are doing something for me because we've been married for a while now?..."

He carefully let go of her, and then took hold of her wrist. "I have to show you then… I cannot exactly explain with words..."

/ / / / /

"Okay, first Frederick starts vanishing, and now Robin?" Chrom sighed a few days later as he was waiting in the throne room of the Ylissean castle, Sumia and Lissa with him as he tried to figure out what was going on. "How long has it been happening now?"

Lissa frowned as she looked up, before closing her eyes as she started counting her fingers. "I would say about a month for Frederick,” She then took a moment to think again, before continuing, “and two weeks for Robin? I don't know really, but I guess that is about right?..."

The group agreed on that, Lissa was the closest that they could get to the amount of time that the two kept disappearing. It was really beginning to confuse them though, what exactly could they be disappearing for? The two had never been acting so… mysteriously and suspiciously before…

Suddenly, the door flew open and someone came running in, out of breath. It was the tactician. "Phew… Sorry that I am late, I was a bit busy! Hahaha..." She quietly laughed, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. She was hoping that she wouldn't be asked why, but alas, that would not be the case.

Almost instantly, Sumia asked what she didn't want to hear.

With a sigh, the tactician scuffed her boot against the floor before shrugging. "It doesn't matter..." Three glares were enough to make her gulp, and explain. "Frederick had ended up getting me a lot of new books, so I've been distracted reading them… That and, um..." She then began to mess with her fingers awkwardly, somehow turning embarrassed despite not getting the slightly more embarrassing part out. “We've… Been talking a lot about… Starting a family recently, so we've, uh...” She pulled the hood of her coat over her head them, before mumbling to herself.

Chrom laughed, before he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why are you turning red? At least we know why you two have been acting a bit strange! Anyway, we need to go now, we were just waiting for you." He smiled, before looking at Lissa. "Are you coming?"

"Nope, not today! I'm staying here with Sumia!" Almost instantly, Sumia had the Ylissean princess diving over her shoulders.

"Huh?" Robin tilted her head in confusion. "You're not coming? Normally you would jump up at the chance to kill some risen with Chrom..."

Despite the fighting now being over, risen were actually still quite the problem within the continent. More often than not, one or two of the Shepherds, sometimes even the mysterious 'Marth' figure, or even Basilio and Flavia had been nearby to deal with them. If there were a lot of risen or if they were difficult, more often than not those residing within the castle in Ylisstol – so Chrom, Lissa, Robin, Frederick and Sumia – would be called upon.

"No… I'm not going. Did you not tell her, Chrom?" Sumia smiled, before looking at the exalt at the same time as Lissa.

"Yeah, big brother! Have you not told her?"

Robin turned to face him then. They had a secret, and hadn't told her?… Well, locking herself in hers and Frederick's quarters to read her new books or to just have sex with her husband did mean that she barely made any contact with anyone who wasn't related to her...

As he began fidgeting, he sighed deeply. "You know that me and Sumia are quite close as friends?… Well… Now… Heh, I'm not exactly good with words when explaining this?…" Chrom then moved his hands around a slight bit as he tried to get his words out, before sighing. He just couldn't.

Robin knew her best friend well enough to get what he was wanting to say. "You two are engaged, aren't you?"

"Yes."

The blunt way in which Chrom responded to Robin made Lissa slap her face with a sigh. "And here you see the ruler of Ylisse…"

Meanwhile, Sumia had burst out laughing. Despite their constant clashes with each other, Chrom and Lissa were the perfect example of siblings with a healthy relationship. Robin was also thinking something along the same lines, and was laughing too.

"Well, I'm happy for you two then!" Robin was finally able to say once she had calmed down, before turning to Chrom. "So, where are we heading off to? I'm guessing that seeming as Frederick isn't here by now, it's just the two of us..."

"A field to the south… The same one where we found you, actually…" The quiet laughing of Chrom was enough to get Robin to roll her eyes, before she pulled out a tome and hit him across the head. "Ow… I get it, now isn't the time for reminiscing…"

"Yes, I believe that you are correct there, milord… Hadn't we best be leaving now?"

Everyone turned around and Lissa let out a loud sigh of relief. "It's about time you showed up, Frederick! Now, take Chrom and Robin, and get out of here! I have some talking to do with Sumia about her wedding!"

“L- Lissa!”

/ / / / /

"Are you sure that you are okay?..." Robin muttered that night, wrapped up under a few layers of blankets as she spoke to Frederick, her eyes not losing contact with her book. "I mean, we had never even noticed that last risen with the fire tome… And that burn on your face looked rather bad..."

Frederick deeply chuckled, before he carefully placed one of Robin's misplaced tomes back onto her bookshelf. "Yes, Robin. I am fine. Quite fortunate that Lady Maribelle happened to be present at that point of the battle too. But what about you?” The knight sighed as he remembered what had happened to his wife then, “You tripped over a lance which one of the risen dropped..."

Robin closed her book, and then placed it beside her with a small smile. The fight earlier against the risen had been quite a clumsy one, especially for the tactician and the knight. As a matter of fact, they were the only ones to sustain injuries. Just as Robin had stated, Frederick had got some of his face burned through a narrow miss with a risen which was wielding a fire tome. As a result of that, she had wanted to see if he were okay afterwards, but had ended up tripping over a lance – she blamed that on the grass being too tall in the field.

Quietly, she looked at her knee, and decided to respond to his question. "Look… It's nothing much more than a few small bruises..." She then closed her eyes, and began to slowly hum a small tune to herself.

Things stayed quiet between the two them, except for Robin's quiet humming, at least until she could feel a pair of arms pull her close to his body. Robin opened her eyes, and smiled at the fact that Frederick had finally decided to sit down in their bed beside her.

Carefully, she then kissed just above the burn on his cheek, before she could feel his hand rest upon the bruises on her leg. "Hey, um..." Robin trailed off, before trying to think of what to say. She wasn't liking the silence much at all.

"What is it, milady?..." Frederick kissed her forehead quickly, before she realised something.

"You feel cold..." Ever so carefully, she adjusted the blankets wrapped around her to also enclose him. "I don't like holding onto you when you are cold."

"Maybe I would not feel so cold if mayhaps… You actually wore more clothes?..."

Robin pouted as her face went red then. "It's not my fault that I got a lot of that… I don't know, sap-like thing that the risen turn into when they are defeated all over me!" She grabbed hold of Frederick even tighter then with a 'hmph', before she could feel him rest his chin upon her head.

"I know… But you do have other clothes-"

"And if I so wish, I don't have to wear _much_ in the presence of my husband. It isn't as inappropriate as, say, if I were in this situation with someone such as… Chrom?..." She shivered as she suddenly remembered the awkward run ins that she and Chrom had back when they were actually at war, and went red in the face. Thankfully, Frederick didn't see this, and she felt some relief at that. "And besides… You're the cold one, not me!"

There was another laugh from Frederick, before she could feel his hands slowly make their way from around her arms to around her waist. The feeling of his hands against her bare skin was a feeling which she had still not got used to, yet she still loved the feeling of it. "Well, thank the gods themselves that I have you to warm me up then..." he smiled, before lying down as he kept hold of her. She made a small squeal as he did that, following it with a short yet longing sigh.

"Frederick, why is it that when you're with me… You act more… I don't know, care-free? You're always chivalrous, but your maturity at times seems to just fly out of the window when we're alone! Not that I mind, that is..."

"Maybe it is to do with the fact that it happens to be you that I am with. And need I remind you that whilst I am a knight, and it is required for me to act chivalrous, as you say… I am also a man, and when I am with my wife..." Frederick fell quiet then, but she could tell that he had a satisfied smile upon his face as she held onto him in return tightly.

She then nodded, smiling herself. "I get what you mean..."

They continued some more small-talk for a while after that, until their bedroom was completely pitch black as time had flew faster than they thought that it had done, meaning that it was already the dead of night. It wasn't long until Robin sighed with exasperation and then made Frederick loosen his grasp of her in order for her to be able to light a candle so that they had a temporary light source.

And then, Frederick asked Robin a question completely out of the blue. "How much time do we have until the candle can burn no longer?"

"Huh?..." She was confused, but then looked at the candle so that she could answer his question. It was quite small, seeming as Robin had used it a lot for when she read over the past few nights, so there wouldn't be long left in that candle's lifetime. "About an hour… Why?"

"So we have some time… At least, if you are willing, milady..."

Robin didn't take long to realise what he was saying, and her face flushed a pale red colour. "Is this to do with what you were saying before?… About you being more care-free when with me? Or perhaps over wanting a family... Because if it is either of them..." she then gently held onto his face, and stroked her thumb over his cheek, careful not to press too hard upon his burn, as she smiled kindly at him.

"Possibly." The knight quickly pulled Robin back down to him, and kissed her on the lips gently before running his hand through her hair as his other hand gently trailed across her spine, making her shiver through his hands still being cold.

For the next few minutes, rather than them speaking to each other, their interaction was purely non-verbal. Yes, it mostly consisted of small hugs, tender kisses and loving contact with each other, but after a while, Frederick could just about see Robin pout in the faintly flickering light.

"What is the matter, Robin?..." He whispered, worriedly looking at her as she continued to look dissatisfied about something, which he evidently couldn't quite get a grasp of. "Robin… Talk to me..."

"Oh, I'm sorry..." She laughed quietly, before she put on a smile and kissed his nose as she perched herself up on her elbows from where she was lying on top of him. "I'm just a bit restless, that's all..." After that, she carefully looked at his face, before bursting out laughing. "We've been married for just over a year now, and you still don't get when I am attempting to suggest something like skipping the whole build up and just getting straight to it!”

Frederick sighed, before pulling her back down onto him. "You barely gave me a chance to react, that is all… I get what you mean, I have been with you for long enough to realise when you are suggesting something, especially something such as that."

"Oh! Well, that's good… Maybe you do have a clue after all… Anyway, time's wasting… The candle is getting closer to going out, you know…"

/ / / / /

Robin mumbled as she woke up, trying to rub her eyes due to how dreary they felt but just not having the energy to move her arm whatsoever. She was completely drained, and despite that, she was proud of the reason why. Just seeing Frederick still asleep beside her, arms tightly wrapped around her chest with nothing but blankets over them was enough to make her blush.

It was, from what she could see, only just sunrise due to the pinkish light flooding their room, meaning that she hadn't actually been asleep for too long, four or five hours at most.

"Gods… So tired..." She muttered, wanting to go back to sleep as she tried to wind back down, but a dull ache throughout her body not allowing her. Her fumbling around last night had managed to earn herself many more problematic bruises and bumps everywhere, and due to the mood which they were both in, Frederick had tended to them all with a kiss – no matter where they were. Even the awkward bruise which she was capable of getting on her chest through her slipping off their bed one of many times which resulted in her falling onto her book which she had forgotten to move off the floor.

After thinking about that bruise, she carefully placed her hand against it and felt the tips of his fingers against her hand. Frederick was most definitely asleep… But was still trying to be gentle as he held onto her. Or maybe, it was simply the fact that he was asleep that this was the case. Either way, she was grateful for his unconscious tenderness.

"I feel cold..." She then mumbled, realising that it probably wasn't smart with autumn quickly approaching and she was lying there with no clothes on, relying on just blankets and Frederick's body for warmth.

Then thinking about that made her start laughing. "Gods… I can imagine myself from two years ago giving me a disgusted look about this… Sleeping bare next to Frederick… With him in a similar state without clothes… Ah..." She made herself shut up then, due to her mind then getting filled with memories of that night and in turn making her face turn an even brighter red than it already was.

"Gods… I should just… Try and get a bit more sleep..."

/ / / / /

Lissa was giggling as she sat next to Robin a few months later, after Robin had just told her a secret which nobody else knew yet. "So… On top of Sumia, it's you now, huh?"

Awkwardly, Robin nodded before she decided to open the book to a random page and start mumbling to herself as she did so. She was much more trusting of Lissa when it came to secrets now, due to her being much more mature than two years ago, but knowing that Lissa would be the only person who knew her news for now, seeming as they were actually alone in Ylisstol for the time being made her want to sigh out loud.

_Not to mention she had absolutely no idea whatsoever how to break the news to Frederick that she was pregnant, despite this being what they had wanted._

You see, Chrom was away on official business with Flavia in Ferox, and had took both Sumia and Frederick with him. He said that he needed someone responsible to help look after Lissa and also Ylisse whilst he was away, hence why Robin was still there with the princess.

Lissa could tell that Robin was rather uncomfortable keeping at the topic at hand, so she was quick to change the topic. "What are you reading?..."

"Oh… It's a book with all sorts of Ylissean, Feroxi and Plegian history, folklore and such… Though, to be honest, I seem to be finding everything about Ylisse and Ferox… Familiar. As though I've been taught about it before… Maybe I knew about this before my amnesia kicked in…"

"But you don't feel that way about the Plegian stuff?"

"Yes… I don't feel as familiar with it, so I'm reading that primarily..." She trailed off, beginning to become engrossed in one particular part of it.

Out of curiosity, Lissa peered over her shoulder and began to read what was written also, but was mostly focussing on the diagrams and illustrations present. "Hey, doesn't that look weird? That mark? It has six eyes! Just like that creepy skull in Plegia… N- Near where Emm..." Quickly, she shook her head and wiped away the tears from remembering Emmeryn as Robin gulped.

"Oh gods… But what it says about that mark though… 'The following is the brand symbolically bore by members of the grimleal, either through their attire or through a brand upon their skin. Only a select few are capable of bearing the brand upon their body, due to their connection with the Fell Dragon Grima, either through blood or through his will.' I don't know why… But it worries me, Lissa… That mark is on my hand, but… I don't want anything to do with all of this Grima business!" Despite what she wanted, she was fully aware that she had something to do with Grima… But she couldn't risk many people, particularly the Ylissean people who were followers of the Divine Dragon Naga, discovering that their new Exalt's best friend and royal tactician was associated to people who followed the opposing religion! Gods, especially Frederick too… What would happen if he figured out? Would their relationship be completely over?…

In frustration, she flicked a few pages forward and huffed. "I don't like those grimleal at all..."

And neither was she liking herself, at that moment in time.

"Robin? You seem to be acting strange since you read that page, I mean, who cares if you have that mark or not?! You're still Robin! Maybe you should read something else for now!" Lissa grinned, before the smile quickly turned to a frown as she noticed Robin shaking as she tried to read the book some more. "Right, that's it!" She snatched the book away, before she grabbed her wrist and forced her to her feet. "You're not reading for the rest of the day! We're going to get Maribelle, Cordelia, and a few others and we are going to visit the markets to do some shopping!"

"Wh- What?!… Ugh… Do I have to?!"

"Yep! You never know what you can find! Maybe you'll find an even better book that you can start reading _tomorrow!_ _Ooh! Or perhaps a cute little outfit for your baby!” Lissa took a firm grasp of the tactician's arm then, before forcing her to her feet. “You said that apparently you're having a son, right?”_

_“Um… Yeah...”_

_“Then let's make him the most spoiled baby boy_ _in the continent_ _! Fre_ _d_ _erick is likely to spoil him a lot, so why not you too?!”_

_Robin had no way of escaping._

_/ / / / /_

It was many months later, and Robin had a frustrated look upon her face. "Ugh… I forgot how much I hated the smell and sight of blood..." she growled to herself as she swung her sword at the soldiers trying to cut her and her allies down. "And with the smell of the ocean alongside that..."

Beside her was the new queen of Ylisse, who wasn't liking hearing the tactician's mumbles of annoyance."Now isn't the time for that, Robin! We need to push them back towards their ship!" Sumia's voice was enough to snap the tactician away from her thoughts, and it made her grit her teeth in a newly found confidence.

"Yeah… We need to protect our home..." The thought of her actually having a home which she needed to protect made her feel much more hatred towards these invaders. As a matter of fact… She had more than a home to protect. She had a family now too. "Frederick… Morgan..."

Thinking of her young son in Ylisse was also enough to boost her confidence in her fighting. He was only a few months old, just like Chrom and Sumia's daughter, but already he was more than anything to her in the world. She could easily enough lay down her life to protect him, and she knew that Frederick would willingly do the same. If worst came to worst, and a war started between them and the Valmese, who were their current opponents… Everything that she would do would be for him.

"Robin! We've got a chance to get over to the ship, they've all either been defeated or pushed into the corner… Well, ship, not corner..."

"Right! You go ahead and meet with Chrom and Frederick, and I'll hang back and sort out any stragglers! Tell him to defeat their leader to get the remaining soldiers to surrender!"

The pegasus knight nodded, and flew off towards where the exalt and the knight were fighting, just as Robin ran her thumb and forefinger across the slightly dulled blade of her sword with a smirk. Surprisingly, it had been sharp at the beginning of the battle. It showed just how challenging these new opponents happened to be. "Let's go and finish off some-!"

All of a sudden, once it was definite that none of her allies were in any sort of close range, a sharp pain ran through Robin's head, making her grasp hold of herself and sink down to her knees. "Not a stupid headache… Not now..." She used her sword to pull herself up, before catching sight of a Valmese soldier who had been knocked down at a previous point carrying out a similar action before running towards her in the corner of her eye. "Gods… You just need to learn when to quit..."

A quick swing of her sword was enough to stop the man in his tracks. She hadn't realised just how brutal she had been with the attack though… Within moments, blood was dripping down onto the floor, and the person was clutching the top of their leg as they fell down. Actually, it was more as though it was gushing out, rather than simply dripping. She grimaced at what she had done, aware that she had cut open a major artery in this person's leg. It took a lot of courage for her to talk herself out of feeling guilty.

"This person… Already has blood on their sword… They've killed someone before now… And… I've also killed before now… Unfortunately, it's an inevitable side-effect of war..." She sank back down onto the floor, her headache beginning to become worse, and even the daylight was beginning to make it worse. "They… They were not innocent..."

And then, she could see something strange in her head, like a scene unfolding before her, yet she was still able to see the cobbled roads of the Feroxi port she was slumped in.

She was envisioning… A boy. Not much older than, say, Donnel or Ricken. Fifteen, maybe sixteen at most. He had dark brown hair, and was dressed in a rather similar style to her, with a long coat, yet he had some armour upon him, as though he were also a knight of sorts. His breathing was light as he lay in a field, unconscious and unaware of his surroundings. It was evidently a Feroxi field, from somewhere up in the north-west. Much of the plants and fauna which she could see were exclusively from that region.

What happened next was that the boy was starting to wake up, and began to look around in confusion. " _Mother?… Where… Is she?… She… Wouldn't leave me alone… Would she?..."_

The more that she witnessed of this mysterious boy's confusion as he tried to get a grasp of what was going on, the less that she could feel of the pain of her headache. It had completely gone by the time that this strange scene had finished unfolding, and she could feel a hand upon her shoulder.

"Come on, girl! Your exalt's panicking that you got hurt! You should go meet him!" The hand on her shoulder was then lifted, before it became a 'gentle' nudge in the back.

"Ouch! I don't think Chrom would appreciate a bed-bound tactician with a broken back though, Basilio..." She grumbled, finally standing up. What she was quick to notice was the blood upon her hands, which had happened because of the pool of blood which had seeped through the Valmese soldier's wound until his heart had beat its last. She was bothered a lot by that, and it made her want to feel worse than she previously had done.

Slowly, she looked at the pale body lying on the ground, and she closed her eyes. Despite her talking herself out feeling guilty for his murder, she still felt… Sympathetic to the man's family. Maybe he too were in a situation such as her… Had a young child back at his home, constantly asking 'when will father come home?', which he had wanted to protect… But maybe, he didn't have family at all. Maybe he enrolled in the Valmese army to avoid loneliness… She would never know either way.

Robin then slapped herself in the face to knock these thoughts out of her head. She was not in the position to think like that.

"Come on, girl! Don't keep that boy waiting!"

"I'm twenty-one, Basilio. Not exactly a girl, am I?" She then mumbled, walking away from the Khan as she removed her gloves. Some blood had seeped through the material, and thankfully, had covered her brand. That disgusting, Plegian brand… And, knowing that some Ylissean people other than Lissa were also aware of the brand's meaning, seeing one of their companions bearing such a brand could cost the tactician her all credibility. Actually, not just her credibility. Any trust she had built up. Her friends. Her home. Her family.

She would be one of the enemy. She didn't want to be one of the enemy… She had a cause which she would fight for, and was not willing to let a stupid purple marking change that for her.

"Robin! There you are! We were getting worried!" Chrom's voice from nearby made her look up, and then force on a smile.

"Hey there… Miss me much?"

"About as much as Frederick spoke about Morgan in that battle… So a lot."

"Milord, I believe that you spoke of Lucina more than I spoke of my son whilst in combat..."

"No way, Frederick. You wouldn't shut up about him, it put enemies off attacking us!"

The two men having their fight over the two newly born children led to Sumia and Robin staring blankly into the horizon. An Exalt and a royal knight… You wouldn't have thought that those were the titles held by the two. "Gods… You two men just can't let the fact that you are fathers go, can you? And you both wanted me and Sumia to stay behind in Ylisse!"

/ / / / /

"I'm still not down with this idea." Chrom sighed, reluctantly looking around at his surroundings. He had never been in a Plegian building such as this one before, and the distinctly Grimleal decorations made him anxious.

Robin smiled as she looked at the exalt, before she poked his shoulder. "Well, if you want your precious little Lucina to be protected from the big, bad Conqueror Walhart~" Despite the cheerfulness which Robin was exhibiting, it was all a façade. She wasn't wanting to go to Plegia either.

"I know, I know… We need the Plegians' assistance..."

A few minutes later, the new ruler of Plegia finally decided to show himself. Both general and tactician stepped back in shock at the sight of who exactly this new king was. "Y- You?!" _Robin recognised him… Not just from her memories, but something else in the back of her mind…_ “You're that h- horrible man who tried to have Emmeryn-!”

"Now… Is that any way to talk to Plegian royalty, young lady?" Robin got quite annoyed at seeing Aversa then emerge from the shadows, and talk to her in such a way. Though, her reaction to the king was a genuine one. She had remembered as clear as day seeing Chrom cut down that man in the attempt upon Emmeryn's life, not long after she had joined Chrom and his Shepherds as their official tactician. However… The look which Aversa had on her face seemed very suspicious.

A hand was waved before the Plegian woman's face, and that brought her to a sudden silence, despite her continuing her glare towards Robin. "Now now, Aversa… You do not need to get involved.. This business is between me and Exalt Chrom only." The grey skinned man muttered, before he noticed that Robin was present, and smirked. Robin recognised that smirk. He had that smirk on his face the first time that they had come across each other, saying that she should 'come with him, and perhaps he may honour her with the truth' as he 'knew who she was'.

She just could not trust him though, and she was quick to express this concern to Chrom. "Don't worry… At the first sign of danger, we leave." He muttered, allowing himself to exclusively be heard by Robin and also Frederick, who was stood at his other side.

"Please do not be whispering behind our backs, Exalt. We wish not for any hostilities to develop between our countries, do we? Now… Before we get to our delegations, I wish for you to meet my new advisor. I am assured that you will be… Surprised to see who she is."

The next few minutes were a massive shock to the three then, especially to Robin and Frederick. Somehow… This King Validar… Had managed to find someone who was identical to every little detail of the Ylissean tactician. It was scary almost.

"I assure you, we are not sisters… Simply alike."

"A- Alike!? You mean a mirror image! You're a mirror image of me!"

"Who is to say that you are not just a mirror image of me? From what I have heard, you have amnesia, yes? Well, taking that into account..." The duplicate laughed, before she looked at Frederick, who was still looking rather shocked. "Well… I'm shocked at your standards, tactician… One thing which we do not have in common… Now, I really must be off now, I have some organising to do, Validar…" The woman waved her arm, now disregarding the presence of Robin, Chrom and Frederick as she walked away. One she was out of sight, she then smirked. "I've not seen Chrom and Frederick alive in such a long time… It's a shame that they both have to die again soon…"

/ / / / /

What had happened that day was almost too much for Robin to comprehend by night, as she and the rest of the Shepherds camped out in the woodland upon Carrion Isle. They had respectfully passed up the offer of taking shelter for the night from Validar due to Robin's panicking and mental decline, for that matter.

"Ugh… In just one day… I've horrifically killed someone… Found out that one of Emmeryn's attempted murderers is now the Plegian king… And that the royal Plegian advisor is basically a carbon copy of myself! Ugh… What next?! I'm magically, all of a sudden… I don't know, royalty?! Gah!" She paced back and forth in a small clearing, close to pulling her hair out in large clusters, the way in which she was stressing out. Just to make things worse, another sudden headache was threw into the mix. "Crap!" She leant forward, and grasped hold of the sides of her face. "Don't tell me I'm going to have to suffer with this now!"

"Calm yourself, child… Heed my call…" _Not that voice..._

She frantically looked around to see where the husky yet familiar voice came from, and when she had no success, she clamped her eyes shut. "No...Get out of my head… Get out of my head!" She kept shouting that, until she then heard the distinctly familiar sound of magic being used in front of her, and it made her eyes snap open.

That smirk… She had hoped not to see it again for a while.

"V- Validar?! No… Go away, leave me alone..."

"Tch… You shouldn't use such disrespectful manners… Especially not to your own _father!"_ _He was approaching her slowly, his smirk growing wider and eyes more eager the more panicked that Robin became._

That word made Robin's eyes grow extremely wide. "F- Father?… No! Th- That can't be possible!"

There was a laugh as the Plegian king then grabbed hold of her wrist, and then pulled her closer to him. "Oh, but it is… Daughter of mine… That mark upon your hand is more than enough proof! I am of Grima's blood… And only a child of mine could bear such a mark!" He laughed, before pushing the tactician away from him. "You should leave behind your companions, and join me, to rule over Plegia! It is Grima's will! You are a _princess_!"

"Stay away from me! Chrom! Frederick! H- Help!" Her cries for her companions were enough to make Validar growl, before snapping his fingers as he left his daughter behind in the clearing, both shaking and crying. She had wished to never be seen in such a mentally broken state in front of her allies at any point, but after what had just happened, she had no other option but for them to see her like that.

She had sank down to her knees by the time that Chrom had ended up appearing. "Robin?..."

The tactician shakily reached out and grabbed hold of Chrom's hand as she sobbed, and she broke down even more as she tried to speak. "I- I'm scared…" _That scared, she was willing to turn to people other than her husband._

"What?…” Chrom knelt down in front of her, before returning the firm grasp. “Why, what happened?..."

"I- I can't explain p- p- properly right now… B- But… V- Validar appeared… A- And I- I just found out… I- I'm his d- d- daughter..."

Chrom's face filled with shock and horror as Robin attempted to completely make out that sentence, and he wasn't exactly sure on how to try and comfort her. He knew, however… That everyone needed her now, more than ever. It was essential for him to come up with a meaningful response.

_Validar's daughter… No. Our Robin. That's who she is…_

"Just remember… You are yourself… You are yourself before you are any man's daughter. So come on!” His face softened as he peered back then, before staring straight into her eyes. “We _need_ you to snap out of this. The camp was attacked a few moments ago, and after hearing your cry… Come on. I'm sure Frederick will be wanting to see if you are okay too."

Robin was able to force on a shaky smile at his words, and used her spare hand to wipe away her tears as she nodded. "Y- Yes… You're right… I'm better than this..." She then let go of his hand, and slowly rose to her feet. "S- So… We should go, shouldn't we, commander?..."

"H- Hey, don't call me that, it doesn't sound right from you… But yes, we should go..."

/ / / / /

"We're just going to have to hold off the risen until Chrom and Robin show up!" Lissa panicked, now wielding a tome as the Shepherds realised that they were surrounded. She was quite worried with the situation at hand, considering that these risen were notably more… intelligent than any other risen that they had fought before.

"Ooooh, what's the caw-se of this caw-motion?" The mystery voice of an unknown person enshrouded by a veil of crows made all of the Shepherds jump out of their skin then and made some get into a battle-ready stance, just in case this person happened to be an enemy.

"Reveal yourself!" Frederick's voice boomed out over the anxious murmurs of his comrades, and within seconds, the murder was quick to diminish as the birds flew away. "Why are you here? Do you have anything to do with this ambush?!"

There was an awkward silence for a moment as the person stood there put on a pout. "Aww, why are you being so hostile? I just was caw-ious as to what was going on, nyahaha!"

A blast from a tome fired past everyone, and it was enough to catch their attention. "Oh gods. That pun was _terrible._ Worse than Chrom trying to be funny!"

The sound of metal cutting through the air followed the comment. "Hey! I'm right here, Robin!" The questioning of the white-haired dark mage was cut off by the sudden remarks from the sidelines, as both Chrom and Robin were finally able to emerge through some risen, which had been cut down in the process. Much to everyone's relief, they all finally poised themselves ready for battle.

Thankfully, by that point, the clear air as she spoke to Chrom on the way there was enough to snap the tactician back to her senses.

"Anyway… What are you doing here, boy?! Hide yourself!" Chrom shouted, noticing how everyone was becoming more on edge as the Risen slowly began to close in on them.

There was another cackle from the mage, before he began to grin even wider as he spoke. "Well… I was going to warn you about the monsters, but it turns out that you are all-fright! Hahaha, I slay me!" He laughed to himself for another few moments, before pulling out a dark tome as he continued to grin. "I would wish you all luck in killing these monsters… But… They're already dead!"

Robin still wasn't in the mood for this person's comedy act, and it was easily noticeable to some of the more aware Shepherds... Notably Frederick, who had kept his eye upon his wife ever since she arrived. He was quick to make his way over to her, and place his hand upon her shoulder. "You shouldn't be frowning like that. You _are_ the tactician, yes? The one which everyone looks up to, and are placing their lives in the hands of? Smile, Robin..."

She sighed, and slowly looked up at him with a weak smile. "I can only try… Let's just say… Tomorrow hasn't been a good day for me. Too many shocks, too many surprises… I'll probably be back to my normal self tomorrow. This is the best that I can do for now..." She then looked around, before her focus quickly turned back to him as she spoke again. "By the way… When Chrom finally sorts out that punny guy, and we're in the battle… Mind if I hitch a ride on your horse with you?"

"Robin… You are frustrated with his puns, yet you use one yourself?" The knight shook his head laughing, before he took hold of her hand and helped her up onto his steed. "I am assuming that you have somewhere on the battlefield that you wish to go to in mind?"

She nodded, and pointed towards an old bridge nearby. "You and me, as well as Chrom and Sumia should go up there. There is a bigger risen there – seems to be a leader. They seem to have taken roles of responsibility now… They're getting smarter. Nothing we can't handle, I am hoping..."

/ / / / /

“This risen can't last much longer!" Chrom shouted as he swung his sword yet again, hoping that it would do the trick in fighting the leader of the undead fiends which they were still in combat with come the early hours of the morning.

Robin looked up onto the bridge with Frederick, and frowned. "We should hope! I don't think we can hold this lot off for much longer! They're just going to keep on coming until that one is dead!" She was noticing the exhaustion amongst everyone, so she was putting her hopes on Chrom finally killing the risen chief once and for all.

Both she and Frederick were having to take a brief moment of respite under the bridge, Robin throwing out attacks with her tome just in case any risen dared approach them. Sumia was attempting to help Chrom, but only from a distance with a tome whilst her pegasus was resting beside her. A group consisting of Lon'qu, Gaius, Tharja, Lissa and Cherche were dealing with any risen that were coming from the south, but already Gaius and Cherche were having to step back and allow Lon'qu, Tharja and Lissa, who were almost as exhausted, to fight off a majority of the risen. To the west was Stahl, Maribelle, Cordelia, Nowi and Gregor, all of which having to rely upon each other to keep themselves from falling asleep mid-combat. In the easterly direction, Virion, Olivia, Sully, Kellam, Donnel, Ricken and the mysterious Henry were also having to carry out similar actions as everyone else (though Henry was having fun, fighting with the pain of exhaustion) despite them coping much better with the risen.

"Robin, stop it now! You're going to collapse if you continue!" Frederick shouted as Robin slowly began to sink to her knees as she used her tome yet again. "Give me your tome, and take a break. I will deal with any further risen using my lance."

She let out a small 'tch', before she dug her fingers of her right hand into the ground beneath her. "No… I need to be stronger. I need to..."

"Why exactly? Because if it involves you working yourself to the brink of collapsing from exhaustion, I shall not allow it."

"Because I'm that stupid Validar's daughter! And I don't want to let him take over my mind like that again!"

Frederick was slightly taken aback at the first thing Robin shouted, before his eyes narrowed at what she said after. "Robin, what do you mean? He's your _father_? He _took over_ _your mind_?!"

Suddenly, the tactician began to cry as she felt Frederick's hand upon her own as he leaned down beside her. She did not want to think about what had happened just before the battle, but she could never keep things secret from Frederick for long, he was just too good at reading her thoughts and emotions after being married for almost two years. "Y- Yes… Just to prove that I was his daughter… Just to scare me into abandoning you all in order to join him..."

The two stayed quiet for a few moments, savouring the silence around them. Well, until they both had the exact same thought.

_Silence was never good._

Frederick's hand then completely wrapped around Robin's, and he was quick to pull her up to her feet in order to run out from under the bridge to see if Chrom were okay. Things looked okay at first, Chrom was leaning onto the edge of the bridge in an attempt to catch his breath. There was no sign of any risen, thankfully.

But there was a sudden voice which they heard, and presumably Chrom didn't. And of course, seeing the risen climb back up into view as it said this 'kill… prince…' line made their eyes grow wide in shock. They didn't have the chance to warn Chrom of the abomination going to attack him though, as it moved faster than their thoughts could gather.

"Father! No!"

/ / / / /

"Hey, Bubbles… If that girl is _actually_ from the future, and _actually_ is Blue's daughter… Could that mean that your kid from the future could be here too?"

Frederick sighed at the fact that everyone was so tired, they weren't actually aware as to whether whoever they had taken to speaking to was awake. It seemed borderline drunk almost. Gaius trying to talk to the deeply sleeping Robin was one of the prime examples in his opinion, but that was likely due to the fact that the knight was _still_ harbouring dislike towards the candy crazed thief.

It was now morning, and it had only been about five hours since the battle had actually ended with the complete unmasking of the mysterious 'Marth' figure as Chrom's own daughter, just from the future. The girl's claims as to who she was were quickly validated, due to the presence of a parallel falchion which she was wielding, the brand within her left eye, and also the fact that Lissa and Chrom themselves had witnessed Lucina's arrival in their time from the future.

A majority of the camp were actually sleeping, were half-asleep, or trying to tend to their own injuries from the battling. The minority were wide awake, or were awake and going about their daily business for the morning after having actually got sleep as soon as the battle was over, the minority easily being narrowed down to Frederick, Lon'qu, Chrom and Lucina.

"Buuuuuubbles… Answer me!" Gaius threw a hard-boiled piece of candy at Robin with quite bad aim, but it was still successful at hitting the tactician. And unfortunately, it hit her right in the eye, waking her up, much to her annoyance.

She grumbled as she sat up, before grabbing hold of the piece of candy before Gaius even had the chance to. "I deserve compensation for my injury… Hmph." Robin then unwrapped it, and quickly ate it as she groggily looked at Gaius' eyes welling up in tears over the loss of a tiny bit of his sugar.

Things were quiet for a moment, before Robin stood up and noticed that Frederick was looking at her with an eyebrow raised. "That's quite the face, Freddy Bear… Anyway… I… Need some tea. Or a warm drink of the sorts… Or I'm just going to… Fall asleep again." She mumbled, before quickly kissing Frederick as she left in search of a drink to pull her out of her tired state.

Frederick couldn't help but notice the sickly sweet taste upon Robin's lips as she did that. The piece of candy which she ate must have been sweeter than it had looked… Either way, if it truly were overloaded with sugar… It wouldn't be long until she ended up almost overloaded with energy for a few moments, so he decided to quickly catch up to her as she walked away.

"Wait, Robin… I need to have a word with you over something." He had to find something to keep her in one place, in order to keep an eye upon her.

"Only if you wouldn't mind getting me my drink instead..." The tactician looked at her husband with her eyes half-closed then, before she leaned on him for a moment. "Actually… If you go with me as I get a drink, you can talk to me..."

The knight nodded, before carefully taking a firm grasp of her hand. He had so many questions for her over how she had managed to get herself into an almost traumatised state the day before, and over what had happened whilst he hadn't been with her, because it was quite obvious that _something_ had transpired.

Due to the various different questions which Frederick was asking her, the walk to get her drink felt as though it lasted at least ten times longer than it actually had done – not that she minded. She liked to listen to Frederick's voice, even if he were basically putting her under interrogation. On top of that, she was constantly getting distracted at seeing the tired states which almost all of her comrades were in, meaning that the two of them were constantly stopping so that Frederick could regain his wife's attention.

One question was enough to bring Robin to a halt in shock and worry though.

"And I assume… That the brand which I have seen on your hand before now is proof that you are not just Validar's daughter, but a former Plegian citizen and also a descendant of the Fell Dragon himself?… The princess informed me many months ago that you were concerned over that..." The worry and reluctance in Frederick's voice was enough to hurt her without her even having a chance to think upon what he had said, and also made her start shaking as she held onto herself tightly. Her fear of abandonment was returning. Of isolation. "Robin… I would never abandon you because of a mere marking, understand?… Because if I were to abandon you over that brand, I would have to abandon Morgan also. That is something which I could never bring myself into considering… You and our son are much more important than any Plegian bloodline."

Those words were the reassurance which the woman had been needing ever since the day before. Just the gentleness in Frederick's voice as he said that were enough to calm her down, and the words, alongside the thought of little Morgan, were enough to allow her to bring a smile upon her face. "Yes… It's nice to know that you think that… First time I've been able to smile properly since leaving Ylisse, actually..." A care-free laugh was then given from her, before she hugged Frederick tightly. "You know what?… Maybe I'll forget about the drink for now… I'll just… Fall asleep on you… You won't mind, right?..."

"Of course I would not mind if you did that. I'm just happy that I can see you smile before you do decide to sleep."

"Good… Well… Try and wake me up later then..."

/ / / / /

"Yes, I'm sure! There are some ruins up north, and are filled to the brim with treasure from the Divine Dragon!" The gossip which the Shepherds had heard from the marketplace in a small Feroxi village that afternoon which they had travelled to once everyone had finally recovered from the battle, was very quick to catch everyone's interest. Just the idea of treasure from a being considered as a god was enough for them all to try and investigate into the rumours further.

"Know anything else?… Well, the ruins are apparently extremely cold and icy, and are actually easy enough to access with enough men, from what I have heard..."

"Many have tried, but many have failed to acquire the treasure!"

"The ruins are actually located beside a large field just up north, which in comparison to the ruins and the rest of Ferox, is actually rather warm!"

Those three responses were the most common ones which everyone was able to get, so it was quickly decided to feed Robin the information, give her a map, and then quickly get her to find a route there. After all, they did have time to waste until Plegia would be able to deliver their promised vessels to cross the oceans in.

"Robin, I say that we should try and go there before evening… After all, it isn't too far, is it?"

"Yes, I agree, Chrom… I'm finding these rumours of treasure quite interesting, despite not being any sort of treasure hunter! It could take us about three quarters of an hour to get there at most, so why not?" Robin grinned, quickly folding up the map which she had been given. "Treasure hunting is the perfect getaway from what has been happening over the past few days! It makes me feel… I don't know… More… Free, I suppose?"

Lissa grinned from the side, before looking between Chrom and Robin. "Yeah! I suppose you could say that it makes us all feel like children again!"

"Speaking of children… I've also heard rumours of a child being seen there also for the past few days. People are expressing their concern over it, but have been unable to access the ruins. They are confused as to how the child managed to actually get in..." Frederick stated from where he was stood by the entrance of the tent which Robin was being made to plan in. Hearing that gave them all the more reason to want to go to the ruins, so they had the word quickly sent out that they were heading there in a matter of minutes.

Unfortunately, what the villagers had told them was the exact truth. For one, the field which the ruins were beside was mysteriously warmer than the rest of Ferox. Two, it was at least a five-man job to try and move the rubble from the entrance. And three…

" **Gods, it is too damn cold!"** Robin almost screamed, holding her coat tightly around herself as she leaned against Frederick for warmth. She found the temperatures of Ferox just about tolerable now… But here? No, she was simply not able to cope. And of course, nobody but Frederick paid much attention to her wailing.

"Look! There's that child which you mentioned, Frederick!" Lissa gasped, pointing to a boy not too far ahead from where they were. However, the risen which were within the ruins were also about a similar distance away from him.

The shout from the princess was enough to catch the boy's attention, and he turned to face them in panic.

Robin could easily recognise him. This was the boy from what she could see when she was suffering with her headache the day before. Straight away, she turned to Chrom with a serious look on her face. She _needed_ to speak to him. "Chrom… Can you and everyone else deal with the risen? I'll try and get that boy to come with us to get out of here. Frederick will be with me, of course…"

The nod of the exalt's approval made the tactician then grab hold of Frederick's hand, before she turned to face him. "Come on, we're getting that child out of here..."

It took only a few moments for her to reach him, and he was quite obviously startled at seeing how fast that she had been able to reach him.

"Wh- Who are you?!" The boy sounded quite young, but also quite scared. Robin knew that both she and Frederick had to be careful when speaking to him, but they weren't even given a chance to say a word with what he had shouted next. "Wait a second… Mother! It's you! Finally, we can go home now!"

The word 'mother' brought Robin's mind to a stand-still.

"What?!"


End file.
